Pakistan’s digital bank experiment is moving fast. easypaisa digital bank, the country’s first Pakistan digital bank to win full commercial approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has just crossed the one-year mark, and the numbers tell a big story. At the same time, the wider race to go live is picking up pace, with three of the five licensed banks now open for customers and two more still in the pipeline.
How easypaisa Digital Bank Performed in Year One
easypaisa received its full Digital Retail Bank (DRB) licence on 28 January 2025. That made it the first Pakistan digital bank to move from a microfinance institution to a fully licensed digital bank. Before this, it operated as Telenor Microfinance Bank.
The results from its first full year are striking. easypaisa processed more than 3.8 billion transactions worth over Rs15 trillion in 2025, a big jump from the 2.7 billion transactions valued at Rs9.5 trillion it handled in 2024. The bank also grew its user base to over 55 million registered users, up from 50 million at the time of its licence launch.
Its financial results for the first half of 2025 are equally strong. easypaisa posted a Profit Before Tax of Rs3.64 billion in H1 2025, up 39.4% compared to the same period the year before. The bank said this growth came from higher digital lending activity, rising fee income, and strong transaction volumes, even as the SBP cut its policy rate sharply from 20% to 11% during the year.
At its one-year stakeholder event, easypaisa also announced a partnership with Ant International’s WorldFirst platform. Through this tie-up, easypaisa customers can now receive payments and remittances from over 100 countries in more than 100 currencies, directly into their accounts. This is expected to help freelancers, small exporters, and overseas Pakistanis send money home more easily, going beyond the usual GCC, UK, and US corridors.
Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja attended the one-year event, and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani stressed that digital tools must show real benefits to ordinary people, not just impressive statistics.
The Pakistan Digital Bank Race: Who Is Live, Who Is Waiting
The SBP started this whole process back in January 2022, when it released its Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks. Twenty applications came in. After a strict review, five institutions got No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) in January 2023: easypaisa Bank, Mashreq Bank Pakistan, Raqami Islamic Digital Bank, HugoBank, and KT Bank Pakistan. In September 2023, all five received In-Principle Approval (IPA) to prepare for operations.
As of mid-2026, three Pakistan digital banks are fully operational:
- easypaisa Bank Limited, full commercial DRB licence, operational since January 2025.
- Mashreq Bank Pakistan Limited (MBPL), a subsidiary of UAE’s Mashreq Bank, received its pilot (restricted) licence in February 2025 and has since launched full-service digital retail banking. Mashreq has committed $100 million by 2025 to support its Pakistan operations, including a Global Capability Centre employing over 415 professionals locally. Its platform offers both individual banking (Mashreq NEO) and business banking (Mashreq NEOBiz), with full Shariah compliance.
- Raqami Islamic Digital Bank Limited (RIDB), backed by Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company and Kuwait’s Enertech Holding, Raqami secured its commercial banking licence in February 2026. It offers savings accounts, term deposits, a PayPak debit card, and a goal-based savings feature.
That leaves two names still working toward a live launch:
- HugoBank, a consortium-backed bank involving Singapore’s Atlas Consolidated, the Getz Group, and Muller and Phipps Pakistan. It holds an IPA and is in the operational readiness phase, currently accepting waitlist registrations on its website.
- KT Bank Pakistan (now reportedly rebranded as Buraq Bank), also holds an IPA and is preparing for pilot operations.
For Pakistani users, this means a real choice is slowly forming. Each bank targets a slightly different need: easypaisa for scale and remittances, Mashreq for SME and UAE-corridor banking, Raqami for Islamic finance, and the remaining two expected to serve niche segments like agriculture and education.
What the SBP’s Framework Actually Changed
Before this framework, you needed a physical branch to open a bank account in Pakistan. easypaisa and its peers operate without branches. Everything, account opening, deposits, lending, wealth tools, and card issuance, happens through an app.
This matters in a country where, as of early 2025, roughly one in four adults still had no formal bank account. The SBP’s stated goal is to use digital banks to close that gap. easypaisa’s 31% women user base at launch was one signal that app-only access can reach people who previously found branches inconvenient or unwelcoming.
Digital transactions through easypaisa alone now account for an estimated 11% of Pakistan’s GDP, up from 9% in 2024. That is a notable shift in how money moves in the country.
For the broader Pakistan digital bank space, the pace of licensing matters. The SBP used a structured, cohort-based process to avoid a free-for-all. Each bank must pass a pilot phase before going fully commercial. This slows things down but should reduce the risk of a poorly managed digital bank damaging public trust in the system.
What Comes Next
The next 12 months will be telling. HugoBank and Buraq Bank need to complete their pilot phases and meet SBP’s conditions before they can serve the general public. Meanwhile, easypaisa is planning to add foreign exchange, Islamic banking windows, credit cards, and a Buy Now Pay Later product to its lineup. Mashreq is focused on SME lending and remittance services for Pakistanis in the UAE.
Competition between live banks is still very light right now. But as more players go live and products overlap, Pakistani consumers should see better rates, lower fees, and faster service, exactly what the SBP framework was designed to produce.
The experiment is working, at least so far. But the real test will come when all five banks are active and competing head-to-head for the same customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did easypaisa become a digital bank?
easypaisa received its full Digital Retail Bank licence from the SBP on 28 January 2025, making it the first Pakistan digital bank to get commercial approval under the SBP’s new framework. It was previously known as Telenor Microfinance Bank.
How many digital banks are operating in Pakistan right now?
As of mid-2026, three digital banks are live: easypaisa Bank, Mashreq Bank Pakistan, and Raqami Islamic Digital Bank. HugoBank and KT Bank (Buraq Bank) are still completing their pre-launch requirements under SBP rules.
What services does easypaisa digital bank offer?
easypaisa offers digital savings and current accounts, term deposits, digital lending, wealth management tools, international remittances, and debit and credit cards, all through a mobile app with no branch visits needed.
Who owns Mashreq Bank Pakistan?
Mashreq Bank Pakistan Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mashreq Bank PSC, a major UAE-based bank. It operates as a fully Shariah-compliant digital retail bank in Pakistan and has committed $100 million to its Pakistan operations.
