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Pakistan is weighing a bigger role for PayPak, its domestic payment-card scheme, partly in response to an estimate that roughly $250 million a year goes to Visa and Mastercard for domestic transactions. That figure was attributed to Senator Salim Mandviwalla in a 2026 report; the available sources do not establish it as an audited outflow or show how much could be avoided by switching to PayPak. The policy question is therefore not simply whether Pakistan should use a domestic network, but whether PayPak can deliver broad acceptance and useful features without limiting customers’ choices.
What is PayPak?
PayPak is Pakistan’s domestic payment scheme, owned and operated by 1LINK and launched under the auspices of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). It is intended to support financial inclusion and digitization. The official PayPak website displayed 16.8 million cards in force on October 5, 2026; that is a live scheme figure, not a count of active users or transaction volume. PayPak
PayPak’s domestic focus distinguishes it from international card networks, but issuance does not guarantee that a card will be used regularly. In December 2025, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said PayPak accounted for more than 25% of Pakistan’s 53 million debit cards in circulation, while its usage share was 6%. Those are 2025 figures, not current 2026 totals. State Bank of Pakistan
What does the $250 million estimate represent?
Dawn reported on April 27, 2026, that Senator Salim Mandviwalla cited roughly $250 million in annual payments to Visa and Mastercard at a Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting. He argued that the payments involved dollar settlements even when the underlying domestic transactions were in Pakistani rupees. This is an estimate attributed to the senator, not an independently verified or audited figure in the available reporting. Dawn
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The figure should not be read as a proven amount Pakistan could save by moving every domestic card transaction to PayPak. The sources do not provide the estimate’s methodology or establish what share is avoidable through a change in payment scheme. The Islamabad Policy Research Institute separately cited annual foreign-exchange losses of USD 250–350 million, along with 11 million PayPak users versus about 90 million Visa/Mastercard card users. Those are IPRI’s 2026 figures; the available sources do not reconcile them with the senator’s estimate. Islamabad Policy Research Institute
Why is Pakistan pushing PayPak?
A domestic scheme can keep domestic payment processing and settlement within Pakistan, potentially reducing reliance on external networks for local purchases. In December 2025, SBP described a Faysal Bank/Mastercard/PayPak co-badged card that would support international and e-commerce payments while settling domestic transactions inside Pakistan. State Bank of Pakistan
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The case for PayPak therefore concerns where transactions are processed and settled, as well as whether the scheme can serve customers’ everyday needs. SBP identified limited e-commerce and international acceptance, modest marketing, and a perception of PayPak as a low-value card among barriers to wider use. The difference between PayPak’s share of issued cards and its reported usage share also shows why increasing issuance alone may not produce adoption. State Bank of Pakistan
Will PayPak work internationally?
PayPak by itself is a domestic scheme, so readers should not assume that every PayPak card will work for international purchases or on foreign websites. Functionality depends on the card product and its issuing bank. SBP has pointed to co-badging as a way to pair PayPak’s domestic role with an international network for cross-border or e-commerce needs. In the example announced in December 2025, domestic transactions would settle in Pakistan while the co-badged card supported international and e-commerce payments. State Bank of Pakistan
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For an individual cardholder, the practical check is the issuing bank’s terms: confirm whether the specific card supports international transactions and online payments, and whether those functions need to be enabled. The available sources describe the co-badging approach but do not establish that all PayPak cards offer those capabilities.
Is the government making PayPak mandatory?
Available reporting describes proposals, not an enacted nationwide mandate. An August 2026 report said 1LINK proposed mandatory PayPak cards for certain government-linked accounts and payments. Separately, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said in July 2026 that PayPak should become the preferred choice for domestic debit-card issuance, while co-badged cards could serve international needs. A stated preference and a proposal for certain accounts do not, on their own, establish a government-wide requirement. August 2026 report Associated Press of Pakistan
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What should a sound PayPak policy weigh?
Expanding a domestic card network involves trade-offs beyond the headline estimate. A policy can encourage domestic settlement while still accounting for acceptance, consumer convenience and the costs of adoption.
| Policy question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Domestic settlement and foreign exchange | A domestic network may reduce dependence on external processing for local purchases, but the reported $250 million estimate is not an audited measure of avoidable savings. The sources do not establish the amount a switch to PayPak would save. |
| Merchant and online acceptance | Customers need to use the card at the shops and websites they rely on. SBP identified limited e-commerce acceptance as a barrier. |
| International functionality | A domestic-only card may not meet cross-border needs. Co-badging is SBP’s documented approach to combining domestic settlement with international-network functionality. |
| Choice and convenience | Issuance targets or requirements can expand availability, but cardholders still need a product that works for their transactions. |
| Cost of adoption | Incentives or mandates have costs that should be weighed against demonstrated benefits; the available sources do not quantify them. |
SBP’s December 2025 figures and its identified acceptance barriers make the central implementation challenge clear: PayPak’s reach must translate into routine use. Whether a preferred domestic card or a co-badged product is the better fit depends on the user’s transaction needs and the card’s actual acceptance and features.
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