As online business methods make way through brick-and-mortar shops, Pakistan is rapidly moving towards digital modes of payment. With the growing popularity of mobile broadband technology, Pakistan is undergoing digital adoption with a number of e-commerce businesses, including online methods of conducting payments.

This shines a light on automated point-of-sale (POS) systems – and Pakistan has certainly kicked off in that area. During the fiscal year 2014 -2015 the nation officially stepped into the digital point-of-sale; the volume of POS transactions hinted at a growth rate of 32% in volume and 38% in value.

However, our total of 41,000 POS terminals in 2016 was dwarfed by the staggering amount countries like Turkey have, with over 2.5 million terminals. That made us less than 2% the size of the POS market in Turkey – now that is a hard pill to swallow.

By no means is this article meant to demoralise you. It serves as a benchmark to hope for Pakistan to finally establish itself within the digital age. In fact, the total number of POS machines grew by 7.3% to 54,490 during the year 2017, while the value of total transactions processed through the machines grew by 23% to Rs. 246 billion.

One reason why this is so compelling is that of Pakistan’s large population – clearly, that offers a large market that cannot be ignored. Apart from that promising reason, innovation has been prevalent in cities like Karachi. The market now includes advanced software like Oscar POS, that has all kinds of features at a reasonable price – analysing data insights, managing inventory, and even handling sales, all present within a tablet-based system. These kinds of all-in-one solutions make handling businesses easy – and POS terminals even more preferable.

Another reason such POS systems in Pakistan gain attraction is due to the increased mobility they offer; cloud-based software not only has data fully secure over any mobile device but also allows you to go through reports even when the internet is down. Such adaptable features catch the eye of any entrepreneur looking for the ultimate solution.

Undoubtedly, Pakistan has still a long way to go until it fully inaugurates itself within the digital era. But that does not mean there are not any prospects.