Banks will now charge a nominal fee on inter-bank fund transfers above Rs 25,000 on SBP orders.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has altered its IBFT pricing mechanism allowing banks to charge a nominal fee of 0.1% or Rs 200 – whichever is lower, on inter-bank fund transfers above Rs 25,000.
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However, digital fund transfer transactions will remain free of charge if they are not more than Rs25,000 in a month.
According to SBP, the decision has been made in light of improved COVID-19 situation as compared to 2020 last year. The charging of nominal fee on inter-bank fund transfer service providers to recover part of their costs and help them in building sustainable innovative business models.
It is pertinent to know that SBP in 2020 due to economic repercussions of COVID-19 pandmiec, had directed all banks and service providers to not charge anyone on inter-bank fud transfer despite the amount/size of the transaction.
Furthermore, 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 along with incoming interbank fund transfer transactions.
Banks have also been directed to ensure proper disclosure of charged and free IBFT amounts along with applicable fees to their customers by sending regular 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, said the SBP.
Meanwhile, banks will also remove any limits on the number of fund transfer transactions on their customer accounts/wallets unless there are genuine concerns related to AML/CFT or frauds.
