ISLAMABAD: A Senate standing committee meeting has revealed that Pakistani banks pay around $800 million annually to overseas banks for receiving remittances sent to Pakistan.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said local banks have to pay substantial charges to foreign banks for processing and receiving remittances.
The committee was informed that approximately $256 million would be paid during the current fiscal year as charges for receiving remittances.
The committee chairman said the government had provided banks with Rs120 billion during the previous fiscal year for this purpose, but no funds had been allocated in the current fiscal year’s budget.
The deputy governor, however, informed the committee that the government had provided banks with Rs124 billion in fiscal year 2025 and Rs72 billion during the previous fiscal year.
He said that because no funds had been allocated by the government in the current fiscal year, banks would have to bear the charges payable to overseas banks for receiving remittances.
Dr Inayat Hussain said the government had abolished the financial scheme for remittances from fiscal year 2026-27. If banks failed to make payments to overseas banks, people sending remittances to Pakistan could eventually be required to pay the fees.
The committee also expressed concern that rising remittance collection costs could create an additional financial burden for overseas Pakistanis.
