ISLAMABAD: Pakistan received a record $40 billion in remittances from overseas Pakistanis during 2025, marking a sharp increase from $32 billion in 2024, officials disclosed in a briefing to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the first round of budget negotiations for the next fiscal year.
According to media reports, the government highlighted a series of relief packages and incentive measures designed to boost inflows. These included reducing the transaction fee for sending remittances: initially cut from 35 riyals to 25 riyals for transfers of $100, and later expanded to cover $200 transactions, with the State Bank of Pakistan absorbing the cost.
The economic team informed the IMF that Rs200 billion was spent on incentive‑based remittance schemes in 2025, while the State Bank paid $720 million in transaction costs to facilitate the surge.
Officials argued that these measures not only encouraged formal inflows but also helped stabilize the external account amid mounting fiscal pressures.
The IMF delegation was told that the government intends to continue expanding the incentive framework, viewing remittances as a critical buffer against Pakistan’s widening current account deficit.
Analysts, however, caution that while the record inflows provide short‑term relief, the heavy fiscal outlay on subsidies and transaction costs may add to long‑term budgetary strains.
