Short answer Use a formal channel: a credit to your bank account by IBAN (International Bank Account Number), cash over the counter at a bank, or a mobile wallet. Under SBP EPD Circular Letter No. 12 of 2026, banks must keep qualifying home remittances “free-of-cost for the senders and beneficiaries”. The criteria come from EPD Circular Letter No. 04 of 2025, which says: “The minimum size of eligible transaction has been raised to USD 200.”
At a glance
- Cost of a qualifying remittance: free for sender and beneficiary (SBP EPD Circular Letter No. 12 of 2026 ↗ · checked 2026-09-28)
- Minimum eligible transaction: US$200 (SBP EPD Circular Letter No. 04 of 2025 ↗ · checked 2026-09-28)
- IBAN length: 24 characters (Citibank Pakistan IBAN FAQ ↗ · checked 2026-09-28)
- Remittance complaints: PRI call centre +9221-111-727-774, complaints@pri.gov.pk (PRI ↗ · checked 2026-09-28)
- Sending to a Raast ID from abroad: not stated by any official source (SBP EPD Circular Letter No. 02 of 2026 ↗ · checked 2026-09-28)
What the sender needs
- Bank: your bank’s full name
- SWIFT/BIC: your bank’s code (see SWIFT codes of Pakistani banks)
- IBAN: your 24-character IBAN
- Account title: exactly as on your account
No single official checklist exists: no SBP or PRI (Pakistan Remittance Initiative, launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Finance, SBP and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis) page lists all four items together. Each is confirmed separately:
Check the IBAN’s format with our IBAN checker. Bank codes: Meezan Bank, HBL, UBL, MCB Bank, Allied Bank.
| Channel | How you receive | What you need | Limits in official sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account | Credit to your account at the paying bank, or to another bank through IBFT (Inter Bank Funds Transfer) or RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) | The details in the box above | HBL: “No Limit” for HBL and other banks’ accounts |
| Cash over the counter | Collect rupees at the beneficiary bank; no account needed | At NBP: photo ID (CNIC, passport or driving licence), sender’s and receiver’s names, expected amount and the reference number | HBL: Rs500,000 per transaction. Meezan: up to Rs1,000,000 from any branch |
| Pakistan Post | NBP remittances paid “free of charge” at post offices | Remitter’s details, expected amount, PIN code and original CNIC | Not published |
| Mobile wallet (home remittance account) | Credit to a wallet fed only by money from abroad | A home remittance wallet; for HBL Konnect, give the sender your registered mobile number | Maximum balance Rs1.5 million (SBP’s page for its 2017 scheme; may have been revised) |
Source: HBL ↗, Meezan Bank ↗, NBP ↗, Pakistan Post ↗, SBP ↗ · checked 2026-09-28
CNIC is the Computerised National Identity Card. HBL pays home remittances in Pakistani rupees. Limits differ by bank. More: Wallets.
Raast is SBP’s instant payment system. Under EPD Circular Letter No. 02 of 2026 (January 15, 2026), an approved exchange company “may disburse home remittances in beneficiary’s accounts/wallets maintained with Banks/MFBs/EMIs digitally through Raast”. No official source says a sender abroad can pay to a Raast ID. For Raast inside Pakistan, see Raast.
The Roshan Digital Account (RDA) is, in SBP’s words, “a major initiative of State Bank of Pakistan, in collaboration with commercial banks”. It lets non-residents open a Pakistani bank account online, without visiting a branch.
Who can open it. SBP’s Urdu RDA page lists non-resident Pakistanis holding a Pakistani passport, Pakistan Origin Card or NIC. On March 24, 2026, BPRD Circular Letter No. 09 of 2026 extended RDAs “to all non-resident persons either natural or juridical including legal entities incorporated or registered abroad”. SBP’s page for that circular shows only its title and date; the wording comes from a copy of the circular. It adds that there is “no change in the account opening process of non-resident Pakistanis/POC holders”.
What SBP says it offers:
SBP’s Urdu page lists 14 participating banks in its charges section; we could not retrieve a current complete list. SBP’s English RDA pages now redirect to its homepage, so we cite the Urdu page ↗.
SBP’s What’s New list records that on September 25, 2026 the Governor “unveils market-based, sustainable Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme with Rs16 billion in annual prizes”. The terms below are as reported by APP, Dawn and The News; we did not find the official terms and conditions.
Read more: Remittances reached US$41.6bn in FY26; Pasban rewards start October 1.
Warning SBP’s public poster (the copy we found is hosted on a bank’s website) says transfer of foreign currency “through Hawala/Hundi operators is illegal”. It advises using “only State Bank authorized banks and exchange companies”, keeping the “system generated official receipt”, and reporting illegal operators to the FIA at complaints@fia.gov.pk.
Ask the sender for the transaction reference number and use the paying bank’s tracker:
For complaints, SBP’s Sunwai portal sets the path: the bank first; if it does not respond within 45 days, or you are unhappy with the outcome, the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan; SBP in some cases. For remittances, PRI’s call centre is +9221-111-727-774 (8:30 AM to 5:00 PM PKT, Monday to Friday), and PRI lists ↗ each bank’s complaint email.
SBP publishes a daily M2M revaluation rate ↗ for USD/PKR, issued for banks “to revalue their books daily”. It is a reference, not the rate your transfer is converted at. PRI says the sender should confirm the rate when sending. SBP does not publish sending institutions’ margins.
For senders, by the country the money comes from:
Qualifying home remittances must stay free for sender and beneficiary. SBP gives the minimum eligible transaction as USD 200.
Yes, as cash over the counter at the beneficiary bank, with photo ID and the reference number.
No official source says so. Exchange companies may pay into your account or wallet through Raast.
Enter the reference number in the paying bank’s tracker. Unresolved after 45 days, a complaint can go to the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan.