Sometimes relatives in your home country need financial help. If they reside in Pakistan, you do have a few options. Most banks allow transfers to Pakistan, and some even have special programs for this country. If you need to send money to Pakistan often and for few fees, you can use programs outside of banks, such as a prepaid debit card. Read on to discover the services to Pakistan involving money transfers.
The majority of banks in the U.S. allow some sort of transfer to Pakistan. They charge varying fees, often depending on how much you want to send and whether you have an account. One example is Citibank, which charges $12 for you to send money from your Citibank account to your relative’s account in Pakistan. As the currency is rupees, you would send money in the US dollar, and your relative would withdraw rupees. This means you will need to pay attention to the exchange rate, and at this time $1 USD equals about 83 rupees.
Some overseas banks also allow U.S. residents to remit to Pakistan. For example, National Bank of Pakistan features PakRemit, which allows you to easily send money to Pakistan. To send $100 using an Internet check, there is a flat fee of $4. To pay with a credit card, there is a flat fee of $9 plus 2.89% of the amount, so the total fee would be nearly $12. The money takes about three business days to arrive in your relative’s account. United Bank has a similar fee structure, charging $5 for you to send up to $299 to Pakistan using an Internet check, and $10 plus 2.89% of the amount if you pay with credit card.
If you want to send the money in dollars so you don’t have to deal with exchange rates, most banks will allow you to do so. Usually, your relative is required to have a dollar account instead of just one that deals with rupees. The fees are usually larger to send money to Pakistan this way. For example, United Bank charges nearly $18 to send US dollars with a credit card, and $15 to use an Internet check. PakRemit charges almost $17 to use a credit card, and $14 with an Internet check.
If you enjoy using your credit card, clearly it will cost you more money with the listed banks. However, there are some ways to send money to Pakistan that not only do not charge much more to pay with your credit card, but also allow your relative to use a card. A prepaid debit card costs $5 for you to send money from your checking account to the card, and $8 to send money using your credit card. This means that if you want to use your credit card, there is no huge penalty, and the fees are flat instead of percentage-based. Thus, if you want to send a lot of money at once to the prepaid debit card, which your relative can use to either shop or withdraw rupees, it will cost you very little.
While debit card use may not be as rampant in Pakistan as in the United States, it is still possible to use cards there. If your relatives reside in major cities like Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, or Faisalabad, there are thousands of ATMs and retail shops in the area that accept debit cards. However, if they are in smaller towns, you might want to ask before sending a prepaid debit card. Other than convenience for your relatives, before you send money to Pakistan, the important thing is to consider the fees that the different services have. Choosing the cheapest, fastest service is sure to make everyone happy.
