Islamabad, 06 July 2026: Pakistan’s banking sector doesn’t hand out back-to-back credit rating upgrades easily. So when the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) moved easypaisa digital bank from A+ to AA- this week, it wasn’t just another press release line — it was confirmation that the country’s first licensed Digital Retail Bank (DRB) is scaling in a way regulators and rating analysts trust.
PACRA Lifts easypaisa Digital Bank Credit Rating to AA-
The easypaisa digital bank credit rating now stands at AA-, up from A+, according to PACRA’s latest assessment. The upgrade reflects the bank’s strong position as Pakistan’s leading digital bank and confirms its successful conversion into a fully licensed DRB.
It’s the second consecutive upgrade PACRA has awarded the bank in as many years — a pattern rarely seen in Pakistan’s crowded financial services market, where most institutions see ratings hold steady for years at a stretch.
Why This Upgrade Matters: Two Years, Two Rating Jumps
Consecutive upgrades like this are uncommon, and that’s precisely what makes the story worth reading past the headline. PACRA’s move signals confidence in easypaisa’s balance sheet discipline, risk management practices, and the resilience of its digital ecosystem — not just its growth numbers.
Consider the timeline:
- The bank held an ‘A’ rating, then moved to ‘A+’ during its earlier upgrade cycle.
- It secured its commercial DRB license in January 2025.
- It has now jumped again to ‘AA-‘ within the same two-year window.
That trajectory matters because rating upgrades typically require sustained — not one-off — improvements in earnings quality and capital strength, backed by shareholder support from Telenor and continued technology backing from Ant Group.
The Numbers Behind the easypaisa Digital Bank Credit Rating
Numbers tell the story analysts actually care about. During 2025, easypaisa processed more than 4.6 billion transactions worth PKR 16 trillion — a scale few domestic fintech platforms can match.
Key figures from the bank’s CY25 performance:
- Monthly active users: grew past 22 million
- Branchless banking deposits: PKR 122.8 billion, up from PKR 72.4 billion in CY24
- Profit After Tax (PAT): PKR 17.04 billion, a fivefold year-on-year jump
- Equity base: strengthened to PKR 30.9 billion
- Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR): improved to 20.4%
- Merchant network: expanded to 300,000 merchants
- Total assets: rose to PKR 184.8 billion, from PKR 108.4 billion in CY24
- Registered users: now exceed 60 million nationwide
The asset growth was largely driven by an expanding investment portfolio, which reached PKR 113.3 billion on the back of deposit growth and profit retention.
What Leadership Is Saying
easypaisa’s top executives framed the upgrade as validation of strategy rather than luck. Jahanzeb Khan, President & CEO of easypaisa digital bank, called it a strong endorsement of the bank’s strategy, execution, and long-term vision of building a more inclusive and digitally empowered financial ecosystem while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
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He added that the bank remains focused on expanding access to formal financial services and deepening customer engagement through innovation and seamless digital experiences.
Amin Sukhiani, the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, pointed to the fundamentals rather than the headline number. He tied the upgrade to strong growth in deposits, profitability, capital adequacy, and customer adoption, and said the bank intends to keep prudent risk management and governance standards in place as it enters its next growth phase.
Where easypaisa Sits Against Pakistan’s Digital Banking Race
This upgrade doesn’t happen in isolation. Just days earlier, the Bank of Punjab was upgraded to Pakistan’s top rating of AAA by the same agency, becoming the first provincial bank to hit that ceiling — a reminder that competition for rating supremacy in Pakistan’s banking sector is intensifying across both conventional and digital players.
easypaisa’s AA- still trails BOP’s AAA, but the comparison is somewhat apples-to-oranges: BOP is a full-scale provincial commercial bank with over PKR 2 trillion in deposits, while easypaisa is a newly licensed digital-only retail bank still in its early scaling phase. What the two cases share is a pattern — Pakistani banks with disciplined deposit growth and improving cost structures are being rewarded by rating agencies in 2026, regardless of size.
What Comes Next for Pakistan’s First Digital Retail Bank
easypaisa now carries the distinction of being Pakistan’s first digital bank to commence commercial operations, and it’s leaning on that position. With more than 60 million registered users and a nationwide agent network, the bank says its next phase will center on deepening financial inclusion in line with the State Bank of Pakistan’s broader digitization push.
Whether the AA- rating holds — or triggers a third consecutive upgrade next year — will likely depend on how well easypaisa manages loan portfolio growth and non-performing exposure as its lending book expands alongside deposits.
About easypaisa digital bank: easypaisa is Pakistan’s first digital bank and has advanced the country’s digital finance landscape. Backed by shareholders Telenor Group — a leading telecom operator across Asia and the Nordics — and Ant Group, the force behind Alipay, easypaisa delivers secure, convenient financial solutions to millions of Pakistanis.
For further information: Ghazi Taimoor Ahmed, Executive Manager, Corporate Communications, easypaisa digital bank.
Does a rising credit rating actually change anything for the average easypaisa user, or is this more about investor confidence than customer benefit? What do you think?
