August 17, 2020 (MLN): Remittances from overseas Pakistanis have reached USD 2,768 million in July 2020, i.e. highest ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Monday.
Taking to his twitter handle, he further informed that this translates into a 12.2% increase over June 2020 and 36.5% increase over July 2019. Given the impact of Covid-19 globally, this increase in worker’s remittances is encouraging.
Several factors have likely supported the growth in remittances to date, including orderly exchange rate conditions and policy steps taken by the State Bank and the Federal Government under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative. These steps include reducing the threshold for eligible transactions from USD 200 to USD 100 under the Reimbursement of Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Charges Scheme, an increased push towards adoption of digital channels, and targeted marketing campaigns to promote formal channels for sending remittances, a press release by State Bank of Pakistan said in this regard.
