Introduction:

Pakistan’s recent rise in financial inclusion is marked by a high ownership of mobile money wallet accounts. From the high days of Over The Counter (OTC) transactions, that amounted for 82% of the volume in 2013, while mobile money wallets accounting for 12% [1], Pakistan has seen a reversal of roles, as in 2024 mobile money wallets account for 93% of the volume of transactions while OTC account for a mere 7% [2] , as shown in figure 1 below

Source: Branchless Banking Newsletter – State Bank of Pakistan

One important catalyst in this reliance on mobile money wallets, has been in the introduction of Raast in February 2022. In FY 2022-23, out of a total of 4.7 billion [3] digital transactions, Raast accounted 147.2 million [4] i.e. 3.1% of the volume, however by FY24, the volume had risen to 496.1 million [5] , which was 7.8% out of a total digital transaction volume of 6.4 billion [6]. The K-FIS of 2024, provides crucial insights into the awareness levels about Raast and its usage, which we will detail in this blog.

Awareness and Sources

Awareness of Raast has risen to an estimated 15 percent in 2024, up from 10 percent in 2022, but remains limited across the general population. As shown in figure 2 below, this topline number conceals significant variation across demographic groups.

Source: Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) 2024

The gender gap is especially pronounced, with 24 percent of men reporting awareness of Raast compared to just 5 percent of women. This gap is observed consistently across provinces and is widest in rural areas, where both overall awareness and female awareness are lowest. Age also plays a role, with younger adults, particularly those between 18 and 34, showing higher awareness than older age groups. Urban populations tend to report greater familiarity with Raast than rural populations. Awareness is also markedly higher among those already included in the formal financial system compared to the financially excluded.

The sources through which individuals learn about Raast vary, with account-linked mobile applications emerging as a key channel, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Source: Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) 2022 and 2024

Among those who are aware of Raast, a large proportion report first finding out about it through the app of their bank or mobile wallet provider. Other sources such as social media, family and friends, and advertisements also contribute to awareness, but with lower reported frequency. The relatively low reach of traditional media underscores the central role of digital platforms, particularly financial apps, in introducing users to new payment systems like Raast.

Prompting from financial account

Within financial account apps, there are two main ways users become aware of Raast. The primary source is the Raast option presented on the app during digital payments. A secondary source, now discontinued, involved app-based prompts that informed users about Raast and its benefits. As shown in figure 4 below, among users who recall receiving in-app prompts, 48 percent described them as occurring “frequently,” while an additional 8 percent reported seeing them “very frequently.”

Source: Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) 2024

This frequency of getting the prompts seem to have a link with the frequency of using Raast. But before we get into that, lets just look at the frequency of Raast usage. As figure 5 below shows, 40 percent of users report that they use it once a month. Usage drops at higher frequencies, with 16 percent using it twice a month, 15 percent twice a week, and 11 percent once a week. Similarly, just 2 percent report using Raast daily, while another 2 percent do not remember using it. Notably, 15 percent say they have only used it once, highlighting that a significant portion of users may not yet be fully engaged with the platform.

Source: Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS) 2024

Linking prompting to usage

The relationship between digital prompts and Raast usage, in the K-FIS 2024, was explored using two statistical tests to see if people who receive prompts more often tend to use Raast more frequently. The first test, called the Chi Square test, showed a strong association between how often users receive Raast prompts and how often they use the service. This result was statistically significant (p < 0.001), meaning the link is very unlikely to be due to chance. To better understand how the frequency of prompts relates to usage levels, a second test, an Ordinal Logistic Regression was used. This test looks at usage levels in order, such as once a month, once a week, or daily. The results show that each step up in prompt frequency increases the likelihood of higher Raast usage by 21.3 percent. In other words, people who receive prompts more often through their financial apps are much more likely to use Raast regularly, although other factors may also be influencing their behaviour.

Conclusion

Raast’s overall awareness has improved from 2022 to 2024, however it remains unevenly distributed, with wide gaps across gender, age, location, and financial inclusion status. Financial account apps have been the most influential source of awareness, especially through transactional features and the now discontinued in-app prompts. Statistical analysis shows that more frequent prompting is strongly associated with more frequent use with each increase in prompt frequency raising the likelihood of higher usage by over 21 percent. Given this link, reviving and improving these app-based prompts could be a practical and effective step to drive deeper engagement with Raast, especially among less active users and underrepresented groups.