Bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis not to be closed, SBP tells Senate Panel

• SBP promises to the Senate Body that the bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis will not be closed for next six months.
• SBP told the committee that more than 95 percent bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis have been verified through biometric mechanism.

ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday promised to the Senate Body that the bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis would not be closed for next six months subject to the provision of valid passport copy, visa, exit stamps and resident permit in NADRA’s online system “Verisys”.

Executive Director SBP told the committee that more than 95 per cent bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis had been verified through biometric mechanism and the rest of the accounts were also being verified.

Certain instructions were issued to the banks through Banking Policy & Regulations Department (BPRD) of State Bank of Pakistan with regard to Biometric verification of non-residents Pakistanis, resident of Pakistanis temporarily living outside Pakistan and join account holders where one account holder was temporarily outside Pakistan, he told the committee.

He said, last date of biometric verification of bank accounts for overseas Pakistanis was June 30, but it was extended to facilitate overseas Pakistanis whose families in Pakistan draw their remittances through ATM cards.

He said as a result of closure of bank accounts because of no biometric verification, the overseas Pakistanis would alternatively transfer their blood money through “Hundi” and ultimately there could be a decrease in foreign remittances which was US$21.84 billion during the FY 2018-19.

He said the SBP was cognizant of the problems being faced by people in far flung areas who are not well educated and well aware about the requirements but Pakistan at this stage cannot afford to let the banking system go unverified.

He said the SBP had relaxed the biometric verification requirement for people who could not come back for this purpose and had put in place the provision of presenting just copies of passport and visa to complete the verification.