Payment Gateways in Pakistan: Options for Online Businesses

Quick answer: A payment gateway in Pakistan usually comes from one of four sources: a bank's e-commerce gateway, a State Bank-licensed payment service provider or aggregator, a JazzCash or Easypaisa merchant account, or Raast QR through your bank. Stripe and PayPal are not available to Pakistani businesses at the time of writing, so compare local options carefully.

Choosing a payment gateway in Pakistan is more complicated than in many countries. Cash on delivery remains common, customers split between cards, mobile wallets and bank transfers, and the global names many tutorials assume, such as Stripe and PayPal, do not serve Pakistani businesses. At the same time, the local market has changed quickly: licensed payment providers now bundle cards, wallets and bank accounts in one checkout, and the State Bank of Pakistan's Raast instant payment system has added QR and request-to-pay options for merchants.

This guide explains the main categories of payment gateway available to online businesses in Pakistan, what each is good for, the documents providers typically ask for, the fees you should ask about, a worked cost example and the limitations for international payments. We do not recommend a specific provider or have any commercial relationship with one. Fees and features change often, so treat everything here as a starting point and confirm details with providers in writing.

What a payment gateway does

A payment gateway is the service that takes a customer's payment details at checkout, sends the transaction for authorization and reports the result back to your website or app. Behind it sit other parties: the acquiring bank that holds your merchant relationship, card networks such as Visa and Mastercard, wallet operators and the switches that connect banks. In Pakistan, many providers combine these roles into one product, so "gateway" is often used loosely to mean "the way my website accepts online payments."

When you compare providers, look at the whole chain: which payment methods customers can use, who holds the funds, how quickly money reaches your bank account and who handles disputes.

Payment gateway options in Pakistan

1. Bank e-commerce gateways

Several commercial banks offer merchant acquiring and online payment gateways to their business customers, typically accepting local and international Visa and Mastercard cards and sometimes UnionPay or PayPak, Pakistan's domestic card scheme. Bank gateways suit established businesses with a business account at that bank and the capacity to handle technical integration. Onboarding can be slower and more document-heavy than with newer providers.

2. Licensed payment service providers and aggregators

The State Bank of Pakistan licenses payment system operators and payment service providers, and a number of these offer online checkout for merchants. Many act as aggregators: one integration lets customers pay by card, JazzCash, Easypaisa, bank account or Raast, with funds settled in PKR to your bank account. They often provide plugins for platforms such as WooCommerce and Shopify, hosted checkout pages and payment links. Before signing, check that the provider appears on the SBP's list of licensed entities and ask which methods are live, not just planned.

3. JazzCash and Easypaisa merchant accounts

Mobile wallets are widely used in Pakistan, and both JazzCash and Easypaisa offer merchant services, including online payment integration, payment links and QR acceptance. Customers can pay from their wallet balance, and in some cases by card through the wallet's checkout. Wallet merchant accounts suit businesses whose customers are mobile-first and may not use cards online. You can apply directly or access these wallets through an aggregator.

4. Raast P2M (QR, alias and request to pay)

Raast is the State Bank's instant payment system. Its person-to-merchant service, launched in 2023 with banks required to enable it from March 2024 under an SBP circular, lets customers pay a business by scanning a QR code, approving a request to pay, or sending money to a merchant alias or IBAN. Money arrives in seconds. Raast is not a full checkout by itself, but many banks and gateways now offer it as a payment method. See the SBP's Raast P2M page and our guide to Raast business payments for details.

5. Manual options: bank transfer, payment links and cash on delivery

Many small businesses and service providers start without a full gateway: they send an invoice with IBAN and Raast details, or a payment link generated from a wallet or provider dashboard, and confirm payment manually. This is simple but does not scale well for high-volume online stores. Cash on delivery is still widespread in e-commerce, but it brings return and collection risk.

Comparing the options

The table summarizes general characteristics. Individual providers vary, so use it to shortlist, not to decide.

Option	Typical payment methods	Usually suits	Things to check
Bank e-commerce gateway	Local and international cards	Established businesses with a business account	Onboarding time, integration effort, international card acceptance
Licensed PSP or aggregator	Cards, wallets, bank accounts, Raast	Online stores wanting one checkout for many methods	SBP licensing, live methods, settlement time, plugins
JazzCash or Easypaisa merchant	Wallet payments, sometimes cards	Mobile-first customers, smaller merchants	Transaction limits, settlement to bank, API quality
Raast P2M via bank or provider	QR, request to pay, alias, IBAN	Local payments, in-store and online	Merchant pricing, bank support, reconciliation
Manual transfer or payment link	Bank transfer, Raast, wallet links	Freelancers, service businesses, low volume	Manual matching, payment proof, delays

What providers usually ask for

Requirements depend on the provider and whether you are an individual, sole proprietor, partnership or company. Common items include:

• CNIC of the owner or directors.
• National Tax Number; see how to get an NTN number in Pakistan.
• A business or merchant bank account in the business's name.
• Registration documents for partnerships and companies, and sales tax registration if you sell taxable goods or services; see STRN registration in Pakistan.
• A live website or app with product descriptions, prices in PKR, a refund and return policy, terms and conditions, a privacy policy, delivery information and contact details.
• Information about your products, expected monthly volume and average order value for risk assessment.

Some product categories are restricted or need extra approval. Ask early if you sell anything regulated.

Fees to ask about

Gateway pricing in Pakistan is negotiated and changes over time, so we do not quote specific rates. Ask each provider for a written schedule covering:

• Per-transaction fees for each method: local cards, international cards, wallets, bank accounts and Raast.
• Setup, integration, monthly or minimum fees.
• Settlement fees and how many days funds take to reach your account.
• Refund and chargeback fees.
• Whether tax on services is added on top of quoted fees.

Integration and customer experience

Fees matter, but a checkout that fails or confuses customers costs more. Before committing, ask for a test or sandbox account and try the full flow yourself on a phone:

• Platform support: is there a maintained plugin for your platform, or will you need a developer to work with the API?
• Checkout style: does the customer stay on your site or get redirected to a hosted page, and does the page look trustworthy?
• Authentication: how are one-time passwords and card verification handled, and how many steps does a wallet payment take?
• Notifications: does your store receive an automatic confirmation when payment succeeds, so orders are not shipped unpaid or left pending?
• Reporting: can you export transactions with order references, fees and settlement dates for reconciliation and bookkeeping?
• Support: who answers when a payment fails on a busy sale day, and how quickly?

Worked example: comparing gateway costs

Here is an illustrative example. All rates are made up for the arithmetic and do not represent any provider's actual pricing. A Karachi clothing store expects PKR 800,000 of online sales a month: 50% by card, 30% by wallet and 20% by Raast.

1. Split the sales: cards 800,000 × 0.50 = PKR 400,000; wallets 800,000 × 0.30 = PKR 240,000; Raast 800,000 × 0.20 = PKR 160,000.
2. Provider A (illustrative rates): cards 2.5%, wallets 1.5%, Raast 0.5%, no monthly fee. Costs: 400,000 × 0.025 = 10,000; 240,000 × 0.015 = 3,600; 160,000 × 0.005 = 800. Total: 10,000 + 3,600 + 800 = PKR 14,400.
3. Provider B (illustrative rates): a flat 2.0% on all methods plus a PKR 2,000 monthly fee. Costs: 800,000 × 0.02 = 16,000; plus 2,000 = PKR 18,000.
4. Difference: 18,000 − 14,400 = PKR 3,600 a month, or 3,600 × 12 = PKR 43,200 a year in favor of Provider A at this sales mix.

Change the mix and the answer can flip. If 90% of sales were by card, Provider A would cost (720,000 × 0.025) + (80,000 × 0.015) = 18,000 + 1,200 = PKR 19,200, more than Provider B's 18,000. Model your own sales mix before choosing.

International payments: the limitations

Pakistani businesses face real limits when selling abroad. Stripe does not list Pakistan as a supported country, PayPal does not offer accounts to Pakistani residents and Shopify Payments is not available to stores based in Pakistan at the time of writing. Some local gateways accept international cards, but approval for cross-border sales, currency options and chargeback exposure vary.

For service businesses and freelancers billing foreign clients, a checkout gateway is often not the right tool. Bank wires, Payoneer and marketplace payouts are more common; compare them in our guides to receiving payments from abroad in Pakistan and Wise vs Payoneer. Our Stripe vs PayPal comparison explains those platforms for readers outside Pakistan. Be cautious with workarounds that involve borrowing someone else's foreign account; they can breach provider terms and complicate tax treatment of your income.

Gateways and invoices

Even with a checkout gateway, many businesses still send invoices, especially for B2B orders, custom work and services. You can add a payment link or Raast QR details to an invoice so the client pays online; see how to add a payment link to an invoice and our overview of accepting credit card payments.

Our Pakistan invoice generator creates PDF invoices in PKR or other currencies with tax, discounts and amount paid, and lets you put your IBAN, Raast ID or payment link in the payment details. It runs in your browser; it does not process payments, send invoices or track whether they were paid. If you charge sales tax, our sales tax calculator helps check totals.

Common mistakes when choosing a payment gateway in Pakistan

• Comparing only the headline card rate. Wallet, Raast, settlement, refund and monthly fees can change the total cost.
• Not checking licensing. Confirm the provider is authorized by the State Bank of Pakistan.
• Applying with an incomplete website. Missing refund policies, prices or contact details are a common reason for delays.
• Ignoring settlement time. Slow settlement hurts cash flow, especially for stores buying stock in advance.
• Leaving out the methods customers actually use. A card-only checkout can lose wallet-first buyers.
• Relying on informal workarounds for international payments. They risk frozen funds and tax problems.
• Not reconciling payments to orders and invoices. Match every settlement to its orders each week.

Checklist for choosing a gateway

• Listed the payment methods your customers prefer.
• Shortlisted two or three providers and confirmed SBP authorization.
• Requested written fee schedules for every method, plus setup, monthly, refund and chargeback fees.
• Modeled monthly costs on your own sales mix.
• Checked settlement time and currency.
• Confirmed plugins or APIs for your website platform.
• Prepared CNIC, NTN, business bank account and registration documents.
• Published refund, terms, privacy and contact pages on your site.
• Asked about international card acceptance if you sell abroad.
• Set up a routine to reconcile settlements with orders and invoices.

For more on getting paid, browse our payments guides.