ISLAMABAD – The State Bank of Pakistan has said the bank accounts ofoverseas Pakistanis will not be closed during the next six months subjectto the provision of valid passport copy, visa, exit stamps and residentpermit in NADRA’s online system “Verisys”.
The Executive Director SBP told the Senate committee that more than 95% ofbank accounts of overseas Pakistanis have been verified through thebiometric mechanism and the rest of the accounts’ verification is in thepipeline.
He added that different instructions were issued to the banks through theBanking Policy & Regulations Department (BPRD) of State Bank of Pakistan,with regards to Biometric verification of non-resident Pakistanis,residents of Pakistan temporarily living outside the country and jointaccount holders where one account holder was temporarily outside Pakistan.
He said that the last date of biometric verification of bank accounts foroverseas Pakistanis was June 30, but it was extended to facilitate theoverseas Pakistanis whose families draw their remittances through ATM cards.
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As a result of the closure of bank accounts due to the non-biometricverification, the overseas Pakistanis will alternatively look to transfertheir money through “Hundi” and ultimately there could be a considerabledecrease in foreign remittances which was US$21.84 billion during the FY2018-19.
