Overseas Pakistanis send $41.6bn in FY26 as SBP ends incentive schemes

Overseas workers’ remittances to Pakistan increased by 9% to $41.6 billion during Jul-June FY26, up from $38.3 billion in the previous fiscal year. During June, remittances stood at $3.475 billion, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released on Thursday. In terms of growth, remittances declined by 18% on a month-on-month basis but were up 2% on a year-on-year basis. Analysts attributed the annual increase to a combination of structural and policy factors. Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, said the growth was driven by the continued shift from informal to formal banking channels following exchange company reforms and the crackdown on hawala/hundi, a stable rupee near Rs278 per US dollar that removed the incentive to delay or divert transfers, and a larger remitter base resulting from elevated GCC-bound emigration over the past two years.