State Bank sees electronic banking gradually replacing paper transactions

[Naveed Yaseen]

KARACHI: Electronic banking (e-banking) and branchless banking transactions continued to show growth during the last quarter of 2008-09, according to State Bank’s Fourth Quarterly Report on ‘Branchless Banking/Electronic Banking’.

The report adds, ‘Branchless Banking/Electronic Banking,’ the volume and value of e-banking/branchless banking transactions in the country reached 44.5 million and Rs 3.9 trillion respectively, showing an increase of 11.1 percent in number and 7.8 percent in value.

During the April-June of FY09, the volume and value of online banking transactions in the country reached 13.7 million and Rs 3.7 trillion respectively, showing a growth of 10.8 percent in number and 7.4 percent increase in value.

During the fourth quarter, the volume and value of ATM transactions in the country reached 25.2 million and Rs 189 billion respectively, showing a growth of 12 percent in number and 12.2 percent increase in value.

During the period under review, the volume and value of internet transactions in the country were recorded at 0.6 million and Rs 22.2 billion respectively, showing an increase of 15.4 percent in number and 35.7 percent increase in value.

The volume and value of mobile transactions in the country were recorded at 21,733 and Rs 4.9 million respectively, showing an increase of 40.6 percent in number and 48.2 percent increase in value.

According to the report, the total number of ATMs during April-June 2009 period reached 3,999, registering a growth of 5.7 percent.

The volume of Real Time Online Branches (RTOB) during the quarter reached 6,040, recording a growth of 1.3 percent.

The total number of POS terminals reached 49,715, showing an increase of 2.7 percent in number.

The report said total number of cards (debit/credit/ATM only) reached 8.9 million, showing an increase of 6.6 percent. The number of credit cards decreased by 0.6 percent. The number of debit cards stood at 6.4 million, increasing by 9.6 percent, it added.

The report pointed out paper-based instruments witnessed a growth of 4.8 percent to 85.6 million in number. The value of transactions decreased by 6.1 percent to Rs 33.1 trillion.

It said during the last six quarters the transition from manual (paper-based) banking to e-banking has been gradual, yet consistent, in terms of both volume and value of transactions. The composition (in percentage) of electronic transactions increased to 34.2 percent of the total number of transactions. In terms of value, the same increased by 10.5 percent, report added. staff report

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