KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan’s stipulation for submission ofidentification proof before buying and selling of foreign currency morethan $500 has caused dollar supply in the kerb market to have decreased byhalf.
Earlier in the week, SBP via a circular had directed “to further strengthenthe AML/CFT regime for Exchange Companies, it has been decided thathenceforth, for all foreign currency buy and sell transactions equivalentto USD 500/- or above, Exchange Companies and Exchange Companies of ‘B’Category shall obtain and retain copies of identification documents i.e.Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) / National Identity Card forOverseas Pakistanis (NICOP) / Pakistan Origin Card (POC) / Passport (havingvalid visa on it or any other proof of legal stay of a foreigner inPakistan).”
This move by the central bank was taken to comply with Financial ActionTask Force (FATF) guidelines which are set to review whether to placePakistan on the ‘grey list’ in June.
The shortage of the US dollar caused the price to shoot up to Rs118.7 inthe kerb market in intra-day trading on Thursday.