Mobile banking is one of the methods of branchless banking, in which a customer does not have to visit their bank’s branch to perform a financial transaction.

Pakistan is one of the countries with exceptional growth in the market of mobile banking however; there is still a room to grow much more. According to a study only 25 million people have bank accounts in a country of 180 million.

Major players of banking and cellular companies are entering into this financial sector. Since the launch of mobile banking through cellular technology, the country has seen a boom in the number of mobile banking users. From 2011 to 2013, there has been a 327% growth in the number of branchless banking transactions; and the value of these transactions has grown by almost 400%.The unbanked and under banked segments offer huge opportunity to expand mobile and branchless banking.

The public is progressively utilizing mobile banking transaction services for money transfer, utility bill payments and home remittances through different companies led by banks or telecom operators. The number of mobile banking users is growing day by day, as the mobile banking is more convenient and transaction can easily be done via mobile phones.

Branchless banking, which also leans heavily on mobile phones besides the main channel of agent-run retail outlets, has also been showing growth quarter after quarter. With the growing number of smartphone users and introduction of 3G and 4G in Pakistan, banking institutions are racing to develop Internet and mobile applications for financial transactions.

Mobile banking holds much promise for lower-income groups of society. Through the provision of basic financial services to the financially underserved and excluded, mobile banking has the potential to help alleviate the poverty of lower-income segments.