State bank launches Rs16b annual remittance reward scheme for overseas Pakistanis

To encourage overseas Pakistanis, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed has launched the Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme, under which the banking industry will offer Rs16 billion in annual cash prizes to recipients of home remittances sent through formal channels, with no cost to the national exchequer.

The scheme, launched under the auspices of the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) and developed under the patronage of the (SB), will encourage overseas Pakistanis to send money through formal banking channels. It will distribute Rs4b in prizes every quarter to 2,521 winners, or more than 10,000 winners annually, a report said.

Each quarterly draw will offer one top prize of Rs100 million, 20 prizes of Rs25m each, 100 prizes of Rs10m and 2,400 prizes of Rs1m.

The scheme rewards the person receiving the remittance in Pakistan instead of the sender abroad.

Participation is automatic and free, with no application, registration, ticket purchase or minimum-balance requirement.

To qualify, a beneficiary must receive home remittances equivalent to at least $100 into an eligible bank account or wallet in each of the three months of a quarter.

The number of entries increases with the value of each qualifying remittance.

For example, a $260 remittance earns three entries, while $1,000 earns 10. There is no upper limit on the number of entries that an eligible account can earn. However, cash collected over the counter will not qualify, as the remittance must be credited directly to an eligible account or wallet.

Roshan Digital Account inflows and remittances credited to foreign-currency accounts are also excluded.

The first qualifying period will run from Oct.1 to Dec.31, 2026, and the first draw is scheduled for Jan.15, 2027.

Prizes other than the top award will be distributed through regional pools, with 50 per cent allocated to remittances originating from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, 15$ each to the United Kingdom and Europe, and 10$ each to North America and other countries.

The Rs100m first prize will be open to eligible beneficiaries regardless of the country from which the remittance was sent.

The SBP governor told the launching ceremony that the workers' remittances were the backbone of millions of families, helping meet household expenses and supporting education, healthcare and investment.

Ahmad said Pakistan's external account position had improved substantially and SBP's foreign exchange reserves have jumped to $21.4b from below $3b in February 2023. He said the strengthening of foreign exchange buffers had been driven primarily by purchases from the market rather than accumulation of external debt.

Ahmad said the government and SBP had over the years introduced various Home Remittance Incentive Schemes to encourage the use of formal channels. As those programmes expanded and their cost increased, the authorities began moving towards "a more sustainable, market-oriented model" funded in coordination with the banking industry.

He said Pasban represented another step in that transition and would help maintain the attractiveness of formal remittance channels while recognising the contribution of overseas Pakistanis. The scheme's terms and conditions state that Pasban builds on systems previously used for the Sohni Dharti Remittance Programme, which has been discontinued. Pasban is a separate scheme and points or rewards accumulated under Sohni Dharti will not be transferred to it.