Does Pakistan have a domestic card scheme?
Yes. PayPak is the domestic payment scheme, owned and operated by 1LINK. PayPak cards work at ATMs, POS terminals and online, and are co-badged with Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB for international use.
In detail
Yes. PayPak is the domestic payment scheme, owned and operated by 1LINK. PayPak cards work at ATMs, POS terminals and online, and are co-badged with Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB for international use.
Payment by card in Pakistan
Visa and Mastercard are the main international brands, UnionPay is accepted by local gateways, and the domestic scheme PayPak, owned and operated by 1LINK, offers a low-cost local alternative that is co-badged with Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB for use abroad. 1LINK is Pakistan's largest interbank switch, operating the shared ATM network, IBFT and the 1Bill bill payment service alongside PayPak. Gateways such as PayFast accept Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and PayPak cards.
How much cards are used
Acceptance is growing quickly. The country counted 247,836 POS terminals in March 2026, up from 179,383 a year earlier. Online, cards play a small role: 32.3 million card e-commerce payments in the quarter, against 434 million wallet-based online purchases.
More detail in our #PayWorldTour guide Payment methods in Pakistan.