Reporting a growth rate of 14.1 percent in comparison to last year, and exceeding the $2 billion mark, the State Bank of Pakistan reported a consistent and promising rise in remittances sent to Pakistan for the month of October. Clearly, the steps taken by the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI) to reform the system and encourage the rate of foreign exchange in the country are bearing fruit. The only hope now is for the digitisation of the process to encourage a smoother inflow of much needed capital.
Within the four months of July and October, the overall growth rate of remittances has been an astounding 26.5 percent. To bring in $9.4 billion is no mean feat but it was made possible by the many forces, like PRI, that are in play. Through the improvement of the forex market structure by the formalisation of inflowing capital and limitation of cross border travelling, a steady rise in remittances was made possible. So much so that the World Bank has reported for Pakistan to make a total average of $24 billion by the end of 2020 on account of the many channels through which income is received—formal and informal alike. If the status quo remains as optimistic as this prediction, the economic woes of the country could be neutralised substantially.
Now, it is up to the government to capitalise on this gain by using available technology to make the procedure of sending and collecting remittances much more convenient. If successful, the surplus of foreign currency could help fund portions of the nation’s imports, improve the balance of payments as a whole and increase the overall income of the country. This is something that we are in a desperate need for and as such, it is imperative that the government comes through.
Source: https://nation.com.pk/13-Nov-2020/rising-remittances