Sending money from the United States to Pakistan: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to Pakistan cost 3.81% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 25 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 10 weekdays when banks in the United States are closed but Pakistan keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 3.81% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 3.81% across 25 services |
| Collect in United States | FedNow Service, FedNow network limit, RTP network, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH and Same Day ACH, Same Day ACH limit |
| Pay out in Pakistan | Raast, PRISM+ (RTGS) |
What it costs to send USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 25 services sending from the United States to Pakistan from 8 August 2025 to 27 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 3.81% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 3.81%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United States
- With few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Treasury through FinCEN by filing FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established, and must renew the registration every two years; a business that is an MSB only because it acts as agent of another MSB does not register. source
- Money transmission is also licensed state by state. As of September 2026, 31 states have enacted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, and money transmitters licensed in at least one adopting state account for 99% of reported money transmission activity. source
- The Money Transmission Modernization Act sets a minimum tangible net worth of the greater of US$100,000 or 3% of total assets for the first US$100 million, 2% of assets from US$100 million to US$1 billion and 0.5% of assets above US$1 billion, and encourages states to run licensing, surety bonds and reporting through NMLS. source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United States.
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 10 dates when the United States 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 States | Pakistan | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov 2026 | Open | Allama Iqbal Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Quaid-e-Azam Day / Christmas | Both closed |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | Bank holiday (closed for public dealing) | Both closed |
| Mon 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 5 Feb 2027 | Open | Kashmir Solidarity Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| 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 |
| Tue 23 Mar 2027 | Open | Pakistan Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| 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 | Memorial Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, 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 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 9 Nov 2027 | Open | Allama Iqbal Day | Pakistan banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Pakistan the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United States and Pakistan. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Fedwire does not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays; the Monday business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and every business day closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with customer transfers cut off at 6:45 p.m. ET. source
- Federal Reserve holidays in the rest of 2026 are Veterans Day (11 November), Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas (Friday 25 December); in 2027, Juneteenth (19 June) and Christmas (25 December) fall on Saturdays, so the Reserve Banks open on the Friday before. 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 States, 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 States to Pakistan?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 3.81% in Q3 2025, across 25 services. Money transfer operators averaged 3.81%.
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 10 weekdays when the United States is closed and Pakistan is open, the first on Wed 11 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holiday Schedules (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 to 2030, plus FedACH holiday processing) · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- 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.