State Bank has a week back allowed foreign exchange companies to set up booths for making payment in local currency to those who receive workers remittances or foreign exchange sent back home by overseas Pakistanis. There are many conditions for setting up these booths and booth owners would keep all transactions recorded.
We are a nation who keep on spending and wasting money and time on new experiments, new things ignoring improving the already existing ones. The example is a news item of 06 October 2004 that State Bank reversing its branch policy has directed the commercial banks to open new branch in less developd areas. This is same SBP which 3-4 years back allowed commercial banks to close their Branches, mostly from un-developed and less populated ares on the ground of those branches as un-economical. In this races for certain obvious interests some old branches which had more accounts were closed but with less accounts remained there causing hardships to elderly. Example of such a Branch was closure of National Bank of Pakistan Gulberg Branch Karachi which was there since 1965 on main Gulberg with thousands of accounts, but a Branch just about 600 yards (in block 11 & 10 main road) away less popular remained there (why, do not ask me).
I had for more about 20 years been residing abroad as a Worker. Home remittances had always been and are that money which Pakistanis working abroad send to Pakistan from abroad. This money is sent in Pak Rupees or in Dollars by only two ways. The first used by 90% is through Bank Draft or Bank Transfer called TT. Through this mode the money in Pak Rupees or Dollar is credited into our or our family accounts which can be any time withdrawn from our bank. The second mode is sending cash Pak Rupees or cash dollars through hands of any friend coming to Pakistan or brining it in cash when a worker himself comes to Pakistan on leave. This in no way is Home Remittance.
Pakistani workers also had opened in Pakistan Foreign Currency Accounts. Out of this cash dollars or cash Pak Rupees can any time be withdrawn from the Branch where the account is. Cash US Dollars or any other foreign currency drawn from these accounts, or cash dollar sent through hands of coming friend or brought by oneself at any time with any money changer can be changed to get Pak Rupees. These money changers are like PCO booths available in Pakistan now every hook and corner.
So the point is which Home Remittance remitted by a worker from abroad will receiving families now get from these new counters exchange into Pak Rupees? I am not that educated or foreign imported financial wizard but at least having been sending remittances in these 20 years I have some practical knowledge of these remittances, their transfer and encashment. So what purpose these new booths would serve and which remittances they will deal?
About three years back while I was still abroad a British banker who was present in 23 March Pakistan Day Celebration talking generally remarked that we the developed countries like USA, UK do not allow cash more than normally needed by an arriving passenger whereas you in Pakistan which is a badly debit ridden country has allowed un-checked as much cash one can bring while coming into Pakistan. Have you become more economic power than USA, Japan or Singapore?