I HAD to transfer a small amount abroad and visited the banks where I have accounts for years. First, I went to the bank where I have an account since 1982. I was told that the bank concerned was under sanctions by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for having conducted some dubious foreign transactions. Moreover, I could not transfer money abroad from my local currency account.

The next stop was at an international bank from where I could transfer money through my foreign currency account there, but the process narrated to me was extremely difficult and cumbersome, involving such detailed information, most of it personal, that it was clearly aimed at creating doubts in the mind of the transferees and to somehow encourage them to drop the idea altogether.

All over the world, the process of making beneficiaries is simple, involving minimal details and the process can be done online easily within minutes. International transfer can be done from any currency to any country in whatever currency by simple online transactions.

Since every transaction, remittance and financial activity is being monitored, the SBP has to look into this process of international transfer and make it easy, simple and convenient for the public.

After a tiring day at the two banks, I thought of hiring some smart soul who could use a bit of charm at various check-posts at the airport and inside the terminal to transfer millions of dollars abroad carried in personal baggage.

The thought did excite me, but an ordinary person like me could not afford such a hire!

M. Khalid Kamal
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2021