Pakistan Seeks Stablecoin Remittance Savings Amid SWIFT Costs

Pakistan's Crypto Czar Eyes $400 Million Remittance Savings Through Stablecoins

Bilal bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), believes that using regulated stablecoins for remittances could save around $400 million annually. This is based on a potential one percentage point reduction in transaction costs on the country's roughly $40 billion annual remittance inflows.

Pakistan is exploring stablecoin-based remittances as part of its broader push to bring virtual assets into the formal financial system and develop use cases for cross-border payments, digital exports, trade finance, and tokenized financial assets. Saqib noted that around $40 billion in remittances still enters Pakistan through traditional channels, including the SWIFT system.

The global average cost of sending $200 is around 6 percent, leaving room for regulated stablecoins to reduce transfer costs. The potential use of digital assets extends beyond remittances to Pakistan's growing community of freelancers and other digital workers receiving payments from overseas.