The new policy targets greater women’s access to digital banking, financing and entrepreneurship, building on a reduction in Pakistan’s financial inclusion gender gap from 39% in 2021 to 29% in 2025.
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched the second edition of its Banking on Equality (BoE) Policy 2026 to further reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion and expand women’s access to banking, digital financial services and business financing.
The policy builds on the progress made since the original initiative was introduced in 2021 and aims to create an enabling environment for women to participate more fully in Pakistan’s economic development.
According to the SBP, the gender gap in financial inclusion narrowed from 39% in 2021 to 29% in 2025 under the earlier policy. During the same period, banks recruited more than 17,500 women, increasing the proportion of female employees from 13% to 17%.
Banks have also established dedicated departments and teams to develop financial products and services tailored to women’s needs.
The central bank said the systematic implementation of the earlier policy earned it the Policy Achievement Award for Gender Inclusive Finance 2026 from the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
Four priorities under Banking on Equality Policy 2026
The new policy introduces enhanced measures across four key areas: strengthening women’s representation and retention in the financial sector, expanding digital access to financial services, promoting women’s entrepreneurship and financial literacy, and improving the use of gender-disaggregated data to monitor progress.
The policy sets targets for women’s recruitment, customer outreach and representation among branchless banking agents. It also encourages banks to introduce childcare facilities for working mothers and career progression policies to help mid-career women move into leadership positions.
Digital banking and financing for women
To improve women’s access to financial services, the SBP policy calls for targeted digital onboarding campaigns, simplified digital accounts designed for women and greater adoption of digital payments by women-led businesses.
The policy also seeks to increase financing for women-owned and women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Key measures include incorporating gender considerations into credit planning, developing specialised financing products, leveraging digital platforms and fintech partnerships, and adopting alternative credit assessment and collateral mechanisms.
These measures are intended to help women who have limited formal financial histories gain better access to credit and other banking services.
The policy also emphasises entrepreneurship support and financial literacy to encourage women’s participation in the formal financial system.
SBP sets monitoring framework, targets 25% gender gap by 2028
The SBP will implement a monitoring and evaluation framework, quarterly data reporting and regular mystery-shopping exercises to assess implementation and identify gaps in service delivery.
Finalised after consultations with local and international stakeholders, BoE 2026 is designed to support the National Financial Inclusion Strategy’s target of reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion to 25% by 2028.
The policy will also support implementation of the World Bank-led Women Entrepreneurship (WE) Finance Code initiative.
The SBP said stronger public-private collaboration, targeted reforms and support for women entrepreneurs would help build a more inclusive financial system, strengthen women’s economic empowerment and contribute to Pakistan’s broader economic growth.