International remittance channels like ACE Money Transfer and banks with a wide network across Pakistan, like Bank Al Habib, are key contributors to an ever-increasing remittance influx. In line with Pakistan Remittance Initiative’s (PRI) vision, both partners have ramped up their efforts to promote legal channels of remittances by offering free, easy, faster, and secure transfers from the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland.
“A mega awareness campaign, including more than 950 buses across the UK, over 100 roadside posters and 25 underground tube stations across London, is ongoing, educating the expat community on the kerb (hawala/hundi) market’s downsides that lead to risky and undocumented transfers. It’ll help bring awareness among the customers on the benefits of using a legal and reliable remittance channel.”
Pakistan is the 5th largest remittance recipient worldwide in the list of low-to-middle-income countries. The country received over $31 billion in FY22, which helped run millions of households and aid its economy simultaneously. Unquestionably, remittances prove to be a lifeline for the 9 million Pakistani overseas workers spread globally who work hard, earn, and send money home from foreign countries, keeping a ray of hope for their loved ones back home.
Typically, international money transfer is a time-consuming process, a pressing concern for expatriates worldwide. A vast network of more than 1050 Bank Al Habib branches across Pakistan, combined with ACE Money Transfer’s state-of-the-art technology, has addressed this concern effectively, making transfers to Pakistan possible as fast as 7 seconds.
Moreover, the solution is developed to provide an immersive, user-friendly digital platform that offers convenience to customers. People can send money back home from anywhere worldwide as a bank deposit or cash pickup, and their recipients can withdraw funds around the clock, over the weekend and even on public holidays.
Besides hidden charges, high transfer fees impose an additional financial burden on expats. With this campaign, FREE Money Transfers on cross-border transactions are being offered regardless of the amount of money sent back home.
A customer typically turns toward the kerb (hawala/hundi) market, considering that the regulated channels would involve high taxes and unusual costs. However, they end up losing hefty sums due to hidden charges, low exchange rates, and various other fees that unauthorised services usually demand. On top of that, this practice puts their hard-earned money at the risk of being lost, with no accountability.
On the other hand, regulatory bodies like FCA-UK, AUSTRAC-Australia, and FINTRAC-Canada, and the State Bank of Pakistan ensure strict compliance policies are implemented; creating a secure remittance eco-system for more than 4 million Pakistani expats living across the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia.
Money Transfer companies, banks and regulatory bodies are playing their part in curbing the unregulated remittance market. Continuous development in remittance technology and incentives offered by the State Bank of Pakistan facilitate increased remittance inflows to banks in Pakistan.
The writer is executive head of finance at ACE Money Transfer