Digital wallet and power shifts

The shift seemed more technical than revolutionary when 34-year-old Samina Begum started getting her tailoring payments via a mobile wallet rather than cash. However, the change affected more than just the form of transaction within her two-room Korangi home. For the first time, her earnings were paid straight into an account that was registered in her name and could only be accessed by her unique personal identification number.

She remarks, “It feels different. I used to give the money to them. I now choose when and how much to take out.”

Digital financial services are growing quickly throughout Pakistan. Millions of people have entered the official banking system using mobile wallets run by businesses like JazzCash and Easypaisa. The State Bank of Pakistan claims that the rise in branchless banking has greatly increased account ownership, especially among low-income women.

Beyond the numbers, however, there is a more subtle change taking place within households, where long-standing gender standards and financial access collide; the issue of agency which goes beyond access.

Digital wallets produce documentation that offers a feeling of personal possession that women still struggle to obtain due to lack of visibility

“It’s obvious that the money I transfer for groceries or school supplies came from my job. Earlier, customers would send cash through riders or pay my brother,” Samina Begum explains. Now payments come directly into her wallet and she can keep track of everything on her own.

Economists contend that this visibility can slightly change the dynamics of intra-household negotiations. Although the number of accounts created is frequently used to gauge financial inclusion, ownership does not always equate to control.

According to a development researcher in Karachi, inclusion must move beyond registration to actual usage. Behavioural changes start when women are able to manage their accounts on their own.

Earnings have historically been mediated by male family members for many Pakistani women, especially in the unorganised economy. Little evidence of ownership is left behind by cash transactions. In contrast, digital wallets produce documentation, such as a transaction history, a balance alert, and a feeling of personal possession.

Changes in rural areas and cautious optimism

Shazia Baloch, aged 40, started using a mobile wallet in rural Sindh after signing up for a government cash transfer programme; Benazir Income Support Programme funds are deposited straight into the accounts of recipients.

“My husband used to accompany me to take out the money,” she recalls, “I go myself now. I am aware of the account’s balance.”

Ms Baloch purchases animal feed for the two goats she looks after on her own using a portion of the stipend. “We make more money if the goats stay healthy and I feel accountable for that revenue,” she says.

She is aware of her limitations, though. Her adolescent child shares her phone, and network access is still erratic.

These conflicting experiences point to a more general trend. Autonomy may be made possible by digital technologies, but results are still shaped by cultural norms, limitations in digital knowledge, and obstacles to access.

Digital independence and young earners

Mahnoor Ali, a 22-year-old university student and independent graphic designer, believes that digital wallets provide an additional level of empowerment. She gets paid straight into her mobile account while working remotely for clients in Islamabad and Lahore.

She states, “I didn’t want payments to go into my father’s bank account. In this manner, I control my own savings and spending.”

Ms Ali occasionally pays utility bills and helps with the internet bills. “It alters your self-perception; you don’t feel like a dependent daughter, you feel like an earning member,” she muses.

Her story is representative of an increasing number of women with digital connections who work as freelancers and participate in e-commerce. For them, financial inclusion involves more than just welfare transfers; it also entails assimilating into larger economic networks.

The unseen labour force

Millions of women work in sewing, needlework, tutoring, beauty services, livestock management, and small-scale retail businesses in Pakistan’s informal sector. A large portion of this effort is still statistically invisible.

Digital wallets provide a route toward partial formalisation by allowing remote payments and documenting transactions.

Digital transactions have made things easier for Rabia Sheikh, 31, who sells used clothes online from her Malir home. She says, “I don’t wait for cash deliveries anymore. When customers transfer money, I send out packages right away.”

According to Ms Sheikh, she now saves a percentage of her earnings in her pocketbook. Once her earnings would simply blend in other household money, but now she can tracks the precise amount she made.

She claims her financial contribution is recognised differently, even though her husband is still the main provider. She observes, “He consults me more about small purchases.”

Economic ramifications

Pakistan continues to have one of the lowest rates of female labour force participation in South Asia. Reducing the gender gap, according to economists, would greatly increase national productivity.

According to household bargaining theory, decision-making authority is influenced by control over income. Spending habits frequently change toward children’s education, healthcare, and nutrition when women handle financial resources, even little amounts.

However, specialists advise against technological determinism. According to the development researcher, a wallet is a tool. Its impact is limited in the absence of digital literacy, social acceptance, and expanded employment opportunities.

A silent adjustment

Samina Begum notes that her household’s changes back in Korangi have been gradual rather than spectacular. She shares that her husband still makes big financial decisions, but she no longer has to “beg” for little things.

That small change, from asking to choosing, encapsulates the modest change that digital finance might be facilitating in Pakistan.

Its most significant ramifications might be seen in domestic discussions about money, including who owns, earns, and uses it.

The writer is an Alumna of Greenwich University

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, March 9th, 2026