Digital Lending & Government Schemes

Bank of Punjab Kissan Card, Livestock Card & Karobar Card

What BOP's government-linked digital lending cards actually are, how big the program has grown, and where they differ from BOP's own conventional loan products.

• Rs 200bn+ Disbursed
• ~1 Million Borrowers
• Verified Sep 1, 2026

Written & reviewed by Dildar Hussain — 10+ years in Pakistani banking, BS Banking & Finance (NUML University)

Bank of Punjab isn't just a lender here — it's the delivery channel the Government of the Punjab uses to get credit to farmers, livestock owners, and small traders who'd otherwise struggle to access a conventional bank loan. Kissan Card, Livestock Card, and Asaan Karobar Card are the three biggest of these schemes, and together they've become one of BOP's largest lending books by volume, even though none of them are "BOP products" in the way CARGAR or Apna Ghar are.

This distinction matters if you're trying to figure out which BOP loan applies to you: these are provincial-government schemes with their own eligibility windows and disbursement rules, administered through BOP's branch network and digital platform, not BOP's own credit products in the ordinary sense.

The Schemes at a Glance

Kissan + Karobar + Livestock

Rs 200bn+ disbursed

Borrowers Reached

~1 million

Assan Karobar (SME/Agri)

Rs 65bn+ disbursed

National Ag-Credit Share

~6% (Kissan + Livestock)

Disbursement and borrower figures confirmed from BOP's Directors' Report in its Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2026. National agriculture-credit market-share figure confirmed from BOP's audited Annual Report 2025.

What Each Scheme Covers

Asaan Karobar Finance — The Larger, Second Tier

Separate from the Asaan Karobar Card above — capped around Rs 1 million and carrying 0% markup, with the government absorbing the cost — the Punjab government also runs a larger Asaan Karobar Finance facility for established SMEs needing bigger growth capital, roughly in the Rs 1 million to Rs 1 crore (10 million) range depending on the tier. Unlike the Card, Finance is a term loan carrying a subsidized KIBOR-plus-spread markup rather than being fully interest-free, reflecting its larger ticket size, with repayment tenures reported up to five years. It's aimed at businesses ready to invest in machinery, infrastructure, or expansion rather than day-to-day working capital, and typically requires collateral for larger tranches, unlike the collateral-light Card.

Applicants generally apply through the same Punjab government SME portal used for the Card, selecting the Finance tier rather than the Card option, with a Bank of Punjab relationship manager handling verification. Because this is a larger, credit-assessed facility rather than a revolving card, expect a fuller documentation and business-plan review than the Card requires.

BOP's own Schedule of Bank Charges independently confirms a "CM Punjab Asaan Karobar Finance Scheme (Tier-2)" with a Rs 10,000 non-refundable processing fee, corroborating that this larger tier is a real, currently active BOP-administered facility. However, the specific loan-range and markup figures above are drawn from Punjab government scheme-explainer sources rather than a BOP primary document — treat those as indicative, and confirm exact current tier limits, rates, and documentation requirements directly with a BOP branch or the official scheme portal before applying.

Scheme names and descriptions confirmed from BOP's audited Annual Report 2025 (Corporate Information, Business Model, and Risk Management sections) and its Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2026.

How Fast the Program Has Grown

BOP's own figures put this in perspective: within roughly a year of launch, Kissan Card and Livestock Card together captured about 6% of Pakistan's national outstanding agriculture credit and 25% of total agriculture borrowers nationwide — a large share for a single provincial initiative competing against nationwide banks. The average ticket size sits around Rs 0.1 million, well below the industry's Rs 0.4 million average, which points to the scheme reaching smaller farmers than conventional agricultural lending typically does.

By Q1 2026, disbursement across Kissan, Karobar, and Livestock Card had passed Rs 200 billion, with roughly 1 million borrowers reached. The Assan Karobar programme — aimed separately at SME and agricultural borrowers — had disbursed a further Rs 65 billion.

Where This Fits Alongside BOP's Own Products

If you're comparing your options, it helps to keep these separate from BOP's conventional lending: CARGAR (car financing) and Apna Ghar (home financing) are BOP's own credit products with markup rates BOP sets itself. Kissan Card, Livestock Card, and Asaan Karobar Card are government schemes with eligibility and terms set by the Government of the Punjab, administered — not owned — by BOP. Eligibility, application windows, and card issuance for these schemes are set by the relevant provincial department, so specifics can change between funding cycles in a way that BOP's own products don't.

Frequently Asked Questions

Good For

• Understanding what Kissan Card and Livestock Card actually are
• Telling government-scheme cards apart from BOP's own loan products
• Seeing how large BOP's digital lending book has actually grown
• Knowing that Apni Chat Apna Ghar differs from BOP's own Apna Ghar product

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For independent verification, see State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Stock Exchange, Bank of Punjab Official Website.