Sending money from the United Kingdom to Pakistan: the payments stack
Sending GBP 120 from the United Kingdom to Pakistan cost 2.39% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 29 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Pakistan typically run over Raast, PRISM+ (RTGS); between now and the end of 2027 there are 14 weekdays when banks in the United Kingdom are closed but Pakistan keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 2.39% of GBP 120 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 2.5% across 27 services |
| Banks | 0.94% across 2 services |
| Collect in United Kingdom | Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs (Direct Credit and Direct Debit) |
| Pay out in Pakistan | Raast, PRISM+ (RTGS) |
What it costs to send GBP 120
The World Bank surveyed 29 services sending from the United Kingdom to Pakistan from 8 August 2025 to 28 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 2.39% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 2.5% and banks 0.94%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United Kingdom
- Money remittance and the execution of credit transfers and direct debits are payment services under the Payment Services Regulations 2017; a firm providing them must be an authorised payment institution or a small payment institution unless it is already another type of payment service provider or is exempt. Issuing e-money requires authorisation or registration under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. source
- Initial capital for an authorised payment institution is 20,000 euros for money remittance only, 50,000 euros for payment initiation and 125,000 euros for the services in paragraphs 1(a) to (e) of Schedule 1, such as executing payment transactions (PSRs 2017, Schedule 3). source
- An authorised e-money institution needs initial capital of at least 350,000 euros; a small e-money institution with average outstanding e-money of 500,000 euros or more holds at least 2% of that amount (EMRs 2011, Schedule 2). source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United Kingdom.
The payout side: Pakistan
| Payout partner | What it does in Pakistan | Source |
|---|---|---|
| dLocal · our guide | Payouts V3 pays out in Pakistan to bank accounts (bank code and IBAN) and, as instant payments, to mobile wallets including Easypaisa, JazzCash, NayaPay and SadaPay, for B2C, B2B and P2P flows. | source |
| TerraPay · our guide | Its network page lists Pakistan as a receive market with PKR payouts to both wallets and bank accounts. | source |
| Thunes · our guide | Its money transfer API supports PKR direct bank transfers to Pakistan over IBFT and RTGS. | source |
| Nium · our guide | Pays PKR to all banks in Pakistan in real time 24x7 for amounts up to PKR 1 million (same day above that, subject to a 16:00 local cut-off) and to JazzCash, Easypaisa and SadaPay wallets in real time, up to PKR 50,000 per wallet payout. | source |
| JazzCash | Mobile wallet that receives international remittances sent through exchange houses or partner apps directly into the JazzCash account, with funds typically credited instantly. | source |
| Easypaisa | Mobile wallet endpoint: funds from abroad reach easypaisa accounts through Bank Alfalah's international remittance partners. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Pakistan: launching payments in Pakistan.
Payout rails in Pakistan
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raast | Raast Payments Pakistan (Private) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Bank of Pakistan | Pakistan's instant payment system for low-value retail payments with instant settlement, open to commercial banks, microfinance banks, government entities and regulated fintechs (EMIs and PSPs) for always-on payment services. | source |
| PRISM+ (RTGS) | State Bank of Pakistan | Large-value real-time gross settlement system, upgraded to the ISO 20022 standard as PRISM+, which went live on 16 June 2025 and was formally launched on 19 August 2025; it settled 6.3 million transactions worth PKR 1,566 trillion in FY26. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 14 dates when the United Kingdom is closed and Pakistan is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 14 dates when Pakistan is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United Kingdom | Pakistan | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov 2026 | Open | Allama Iqbal Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 30 Nov 2026 | St Andrew's Day (Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Quaid-e-Azam Day / Christmas | Both closed |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | Bank holiday (closed for public dealing) | Both closed |
| Mon 4 Jan 2027 | 2nd January (substitute day, Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Fri 5 Feb 2027 | Open | Kashmir Solidarity Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Fitr (day 1) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 11 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Fitr (day 2) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 12 Mar 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Fitr (day 3) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 17 Mar 2027 | St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 23 Mar 2027 | Open | Pakistan Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Early May bank holiday | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 17 May 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Azha (day 1) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 18 May 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Azha (day 2) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 19 May 2027 | Open | Eid-ul-Azha (day 3) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 28 May 2027 | Open | Youm-e-Takbeer | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Spring bank holiday | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 14 Jun 2027 | Open | Ashura (9 Muharram) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 15 Jun 2027 | Open | Ashura (10 Muharram) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 1 Jul 2027 | Open | Bank holiday (closed for public dealing) | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 12 Jul 2027 | Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 2 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday (Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 30 Aug 2027 | Summer bank holiday | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Nov 2027 | Open | Allama Iqbal Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 30 Nov 2027 | St Andrew's Day (Scotland only) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Mon 27 Dec 2027 | Christmas Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
| Tue 28 Dec 2027 | Boxing Day (substitute day) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United Kingdom, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United Kingdom and Pakistan. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Faster Payments is available to customers 24/7, but net settlement between participants takes place in the Bank of England RTGS system three times each business day. source
- CHAPS does not run on weekends or England and Wales bank holidays, and the customer payment deadline is 17:40, so any same-day sterling funding of an overseas account must be instructed before then. source
- Where the beneficiary banks elsewhere, the bank receiving a home remittance must pass the funds to the beneficiary's bank within 24 hours of receipt at most, and that bank credits the account instantly; pay orders and demand drafts go out within 24 hours and cash over the counter is available instantly. A late credit entitles the beneficiary to 65 paisa per thousand rupees for each day of delay. source
- SBP and the Pakistan Remittance Initiative run a dedicated 'PRI Channel' built on direct bilateral arrangements between domestic and international financial institutions, a pre-funding requirement, API system-to-system integration and Pakistan's national payment infrastructure; banks, microfinance banks, exchange companies and branchless banking wallets can receive home remittances. source
- PRISM+, Pakistan's RTGS, runs only within SBP-designated business-day periods and cut-offs, and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays notified by SBP are ordinarily non-business days. Since 30 September 2025 SBP has required banks to send branch-initiated customer transfers through Raast OTC instead of RTGS, and Raast is built for always-on retail payments. source
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in United Kingdom, the payout partners and banks in Pakistan and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Pakistan balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the United Kingdom to Pakistan?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending GBP 120 at 2.39% in Q3 2025, across 29 services. Money transfer operators averaged 2.5%.
Which rails pay out in Pakistan?
Local payouts run over Raast, PRISM+ (RTGS).
When do I need to prefund Pakistan payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 14 weekdays when the United Kingdom is closed and Pakistan is open, the first on Mon 30 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- UK bank holidays (JSON feed) · GOV.UK
- UK bank holidays · GOV.UK
- Public holidays in Pakistan 2026 revealed (Cabinet Division notification) · Daily Pakistan
- PSX notice PSX/N-89: holidays for 2026 · Pakistan Stock Exchange
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.