Digital bank accounts for the overseas Pakistanis are decided to be introduced by State Bank of Pakistan.
Digital bank accounts for the overseas Pakistanis are decided to be introduced. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is considering the introduction of digital bank accounts for overseas Pakistanis.
The central bank’s governor, Reza Baqir said: “They will not have to be physically here in Pakistan nor visit any consulate in their country of residence. No documents will be required as this will be opened through a paperless experience”.
“They will not have to be physically here in Pakistan nor visit any consulate in their country of residence. No documents will be required as this will be opened through a paperless experience,” the governor said.
The expatriates (overseas Pakistanis) will be given access to use this digital bank account for several services these include credit card purchases, payments for utility bills and investment into the government’s treasury bills on attractive profit rates. But these accounts are not limited for the mentioned services only.
They will be able to invest directly into the Pakistan Stock Exchange and various savings schemes like National Savings Certificates on special profit rates.
Baqir said “Down the line, they will also be given the option to invest in real estate schemes,”, further adding more details about this product will be shared only when they will make a formal announcement.
Unfortunately, Pakistan’s remittances have dropped 5 per cent in March and are most likely to decrease further because of the current ongoing economic slump.
SBP is focusing in opening new financial channels for Pakistani diaspora abroad. The core purpose of which is to facilitate expatriates, doctors and engineers for example, who have significant savings to invest, which will ultimately support and strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistani rupee hit over 40-day low as the demand for the US dollar increased after the government reopened more sectors of its economy following the lockdown due to Covid-19.
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has strongly resented the volatility of rupee against dollar as it has weaken business community and has potential to cause horrible impacts on the overall economy.
President SBP, Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, said that Pakistan mostly depended on goods not of its own but imported capital goods and raw material to meet the needs of local industry, but the continuously falling value of rupee would make all imported goods and raw material highly costly.
He added that due to an exponential rise in the cost of imports, production cost would further go up that would affect the competitiveness of our exports. Pakistan’s imports were way much higher as compared to its exports and rupee depreciation would thus bring more problems to the overall economy.
Hence, Waheed, called upon the SBP to make immediate intervention to bring stability in the value of domestic currency as the continuous fall in the value of rupee would retard the cost of imports manifold.