Pakistan’s E-Commerce Shift: Less Credit, More Local

Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics payment systems dashboards analytics

An important structural shift is visible in the data:

1. Credit cards losing share
Over time, credit cards are not gaining ground in e-commerce — they are gradually losing share relative to debit cards.

This suggests :

E-commerce in Pakistan is not credit-fuelled
It remains cash-flow driven (linked to bank balances)
Limited consumer credit penetration continues to shape digital payments

2. Shift from international to local cards
At the same time, there is a clear move:
Local cards now dominate (~68–71%)
International cards have declined (~29–32%)

This suggests:
Growing strength of domestic payment rails
Reduced reliance on cross-border payment networks
Possible effects of FX constraints and import compression