Pakistan’s payments landscape is changing quickly. But a payment that looks complete in a banking app may still be unresolved for the customer, and an international remittance approved by one bank may face further checks elsewhere. This guide brings together my reporting on domestic payment systems, customer complaints and cross-border banking.
Start here: understand the payment system
Pakistan Has Become a Digital-Payments Economy. Has Its Financial Infrastructure Caught Up? examines the FY26 shift to digital channels, Raast and PRISM+.
Pakistan’s New Cheque-Clearing System explains PECS and why faster clearing does not necessarily mean instantly available funds.
When your money does not arrive
Bank Transfer Failed in Pakistan? How to Trace Your Money and Complain is the first stop for a debit without a matching credit or bill payment.
For an unauthorised card transaction, use the guide to card charges without an OTP and how to challenge a bank’s card-dispute decision. Different transaction types can require different evidence and complaint routes.
Receiving money from abroad: home remittances and Pasban
Receiving money from overseas? Our Pasban Remittance Rewards Scheme guide explains eligibility, quarterly prize entries and the shift from Sohni Dharti. Personal incoming remittances are distinct from commercial outward payments.
Start with the distinction: Home remittances are personal funds sent from abroad to recipients in Pakistan. Pasban concerns qualifying incoming remittances credited to eligible accounts or wallets. It is not a guide to sending commercial payments overseas. If a transfer is delayed or goes missing, consult our bank-transfer tracing and complaints guide; for current Pasban draw rules, use the official 1LINK scheme page. Keep your transfer receipt and bank credit record.
Sending business payments overseas
Start with the Pakistan Cross-Border Payments Guide, which organises SBP foreign-exchange rules, SWIFT and correspondent banking.
Read what Chapter 14 permits, then what documents and checks your bank may require. If the payment is stopped later, see why international payments can be delayed or returned.
Reliability and security
Pakistan’s Digital Infrastructure Is Now a National Security Issue examines the broader consequences of dependence on connected systems. Raast and hawala monitoring considers the compliance challenges created when money appears to move domestically.
Written by Muhammad Munaeem Jamal, drawing on experience in banking operations and SWIFT. This page is a reading guide, not a substitute for current SBP instructions or advice about an individual dispute. It will be updated as new articles are published.