Banks start to collect charges on transfer of money from Roshan Digital Accounts

Talking to a media outlet, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) a spokesperson confirmed the application of transaction charges to Roshan Digital Accounts holders.

That is if overseas Pakistanis transfer more than Rs25,000 a month to their loved ones or any Pakistani account, they will have to pay a 0.1% fee on each transaction (payment) up to a maximum of Rs200 per payment.

According to the central bank website, Pakistanis currently living in 171 countries around the world have opened more than 181,000 Roshan Digital Accounts.

As of the end of last month, up to $1.56 billion had been deposited in these accounts.

How will the transaction fee be charged?

The SBP announced last month that it had allowed banks operating in Pakistan to charge fees for digital transfers of more than Rs 25,000.

"The central bank has allowed banks and other financial service providers to charge a minimum fee for high-value transactions," the SBP said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, explaining the 'high value', the statement said that if the total limit of digital transactions in a month exceeds Rs25,000, the bank would be able to charge service charges of up to Rs 0.1 per cent or Rs 200—whichever is lower on the transaction amount from the customers.

According to the SBP, low-income groups will continue to use digital transactions free of charge, but free transfers can only be made by sending up to Rs25,000 in a month.

However, the SBP did not elaborate on the recovery of Roshan Digital Accounts.

SBP spokesperson clarified that money cannot be sent from Pakistan to Roshan Digital Accounts however money can be sent to any Pakistani bank from this account while fees and all other payments can also be made.

In this regard, the same charges that apply to local accounts also apply to the Roshan Digital Accounts of Pakistani expatriates.