Cutting bank incentives risks a reemergence of informal transfer channels: experts
Pakistani rupee notes are counted at a bank in Peshawar in August 2023. Economists are worried that the IMF might inadvertently persuade overseas Pakistanis to forgo the formal banking sector and send money home through informal back channels. © Reuters
ADNAN AAMIR
December 24, 2025 10:26 JST
ISLAMABAD — The International Monetary Fund has asked Pakistan to gradually scale back government spending on foreign remittance incentives, prompting experts to warn that such a move could weaken the appeal of formal transfers and encourage the reemergence of backstreet channels.