SBP caps free inter-bank fund transfers at Rs25,000 a month amid 'improved' COVID-19 situation

• State Bank of Pakistan issues new instructions for inter-bank fund transfers.
• Limit of free inter-bank fund transfers will be Rs25,000 per month, says SBP.
• Coronavirus situation has improved, so funds transfer rates have been revised, says SBP

KARACHI: Your bank will now charge you a nominal fee if you make an inter-bank fund transfer over Rs25,000 in a month, according to new instructions given to banks by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The SBP has made changes to its IBFT pricing mechanism as it says the coronavirus situation across Pakistan has now improved.

In March last year, the central bank had advised banks and other service providers to offer free of charge inter-bank fund transfer facilities to everyone regardless of the size of the transaction.

This was done, according to SBP, to "cope with the extraordinary situation of lockdowns" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective was to facilitate bank customers to meet their banking services needs through online services and avoid in person interaction to curb the spread of COVID.

But SBP says the situation has now improved.

Read more: No more activation, subscription or annual charges on internet and mobile banking services

According to its new instructions, banks have been allowed to charge a minimal fee on "high-value transactions".

Digital fund transfer transactions will be free of charge if they are not more than Rs25,000 in a month.

Banks, however, have been told that they may choose to set this aggregate limit at a higher amount as well.

For transactions above Rs25,000, banks may charge individual customers a transaction fee of no more than 0.1% of the transaction amount or Rs200, whichever is lower.

The SBP has also advised banks that all digital fund transfer transactions between different accounts within the same bank (intra-bank fund transfers) shall remain free.

Read more: SBP instructs banks to waive off online transaction charges amid coronavirus outbreak

Incoming interbank fund transfer transactions shall also remain free.

Banks have been instructed to inform their customers about these revised rates properly with notifications through SMS, apps and email.

After every digital transaction, banks are required to send free of charge SMS to their customers on their registered mobile numbers intimating them about the transaction amount and the charges being recovered.