Southern Asia · GDP rank #33
Pakistan
PK · PKR @ 0.0036/USD
Tab 05
Cross-border
Inbound and outbound remittance corridors, tourism flows, FX markup on retail cross-border, and the country's posture on stablecoin adoption. Corridor figures come from the World Bank RPW feed or the publishing central bank; both are cited when they disagree.
Reported inbound corridors
4 corridors
Reported outbound corridors
1 corridor
Avg. consumer FX markup
Trend · compressing
Top inbound corridors
- Saudi Arabia$7.7B
via STC Pay, Bank Al Bilad, Al Rajhi, Western Union; domestic-worker corridor · 4.9% cost
- United Arab Emirates$7.1B
via UAE Exchange, Lulu Exchange, Aani corridor (planned) · 4.2% cost
- United Kingdom$4.8B
4.6% cost
- United States$3.6B
4.1% cost
Top outbound corridors
- Afghanistan$60.0M
8.2% cost
FX cost
What consumers pay above the interbank
Retail FX markup is the spread between the mid-market rate and the rate the consumer receives — the single largest friction point in small-ticket cross-border.
GCC corridors have compressed since Roshan Digital Account launch; hawala/hundi remains competitive for cash-to-cash. Aani-Raast bilateral corridor planned for 2026 should knock another 1-2pp off the UAE corridor.
Consumer FX markup vs 3% ceiling
Benchmark 3% is the G20 target for average remittance corridor cost; above the mark is expensive by policy standard.
Trend · compressing
World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide
SBP reiterated through 2024-25 that crypto assets are not legal tender and that financial institutions may not service them; Chainalysis nonetheless ranks Pakistan in the top 10 grassroots adoption index. SIFC floated a regulatory framework in 2025; no SBP rule yet.