State Bank of Pakistan Launches Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme With Rs16 Billion in Annual Prizes

Pakistan's central bank has launched a new incentive program aimed at encouraging overseas Pakistanis to send money home through official banking channels. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rolled out the market-based Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme on Friday, offering Rs16 billion in annual cash prizes, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.

The scheme is designed to recognize and reward remittance customers who use banking channels, rather than informal transfer networks, to send home remittances to Pakistan, the report said.

Aimed at formal banking channels

By tying cash prizes to the use of official banking channels, the program appears intended to steer a larger share of remittance inflows toward the formal financial system rather than informal or unregulated transfer methods. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistani workers are a major source of foreign exchange for the country, and successive governments and the central bank have periodically introduced measures intended to encourage their transfer through banks rather than informal networks.

The report did not specify the eligibility criteria for the prize draws, how frequently winners will be selected, or the process by which the Rs16 billion in annual prizes will be distributed among participating remittance senders.

It also did not name the specific banks or financial institutions involved in administering the scheme, nor did it provide a timeline for when the first round of prizes might be awarded.

Further details on the scheme's funding structure and its expected impact on overall remittance volumes were not included in the available report.