BD remittances higher than Pakistan’s: The News

By Mansoor Ahmad

LAHORE: Worker remittances, which account for 4.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, are increasing, but are still low when compared with Bangladesh having less qualified low-wage workers around the world.

In Pakistan, remittances have increased almost seven-fold from $1.075 billion at the start of the century in 2000 to $7.025 billion in 2008 and are rising even when global recession is impacting remittances in some countries. According to recent data, Bangladeshis working outside their country sent home over $9 billion, 20 per cent higher than Pakistan.

Despite the increase in remittances, the money received through legal banking channels, the unofficial ‘hundi’ business is thriving in Pakistan. Operators of that illegal business have changed the way they conduct it. In some cases, they receive money from the expatriates in the host country and give them a code number. Their sub-office in Pakistan makes payment to the recipient on disclosure of the code number. As an additional safeguard, a copy of the identity card of the recipient is also obtained before making the payment.

Some of the operators are more cautious. They phone the recipient and inform him that they would deliver the money at home and ask him to keep a photo copy of his identity card. They never visit the recipient house at the scheduled time and date and go later and deliver the money.

The authorities, however, have adopted a lax attitude towards hundi operators. The business is on the rise as expatriate workers seem to have more confidence in hundi operators than the official channels which also charge less.

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