Online bank accounts: BMP urges govt to facilitate expatriates

Secretary General (Federal) of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) and former Chairman FPCCI Standing Committee, Ahmad Jawad has suggested that the government should ask State Bank of Pakistan to work out a mechanism with the help of NADRA to open banking accounts online for overseas Pakistanis. Jawad said that overseas Pakistanis should be provided the said facility because it may increase foreign remittances and as a result it would also boost foreign reserves of the country. "As we have seen 2 percent decline in the country's remittances" which is one of this concern. "Government must announce special measures to facilitate overseas Pakistanis while opening dollar account in Pakistan and give them a facility to transfer their amount through internet banking as well, so that they should be encouraged to place their foreign currency in Pakistani banks," he underlined.

He said that currently local banks were not giving even a single facility to overseas Pakistani on opening foreign currency account in Pakistan. Placing dollars in accounts with no facility discourage the expatriates to invest in our banking channels, he said.

In western countries, he cited, customers enjoy the facility that they can transfer their money anywhere in the world at will through internet banking or online transfer. He said it is high time for State Bank of Pakistan to simplify the procedures and facilitation for overseas Pakistanis.

"Overseas Pakistanis are among our national assets. They can play an important role in improving the country's financial conditions through remittances," he said, asserting that Pakistan could get over $30 billion via foreign remittances if bottlenecks and challenges being faced by bank and money transfer exchanges were removed.

Jawad said that the condition of tax filer should be removed for overseas Pakistanis to open bank account in foreign currency because they earn money internationally and pay their taxes in the country where they live.