Pakistan remittances exceed $2 billion for eighth straight month

KARACHI: Remittances from Pakistani workers employed abroad exceeded $2.0 billion for the eighth straight month in January at $2.3 billion, up 19% from a year earlier, the country's central bank said on Monday.

"This is a record for our country, and I thank our overseas Pakistanis," Imran Khan, the country's prime minister, tweeted.

The sustained increase in remittances largely reflects the growing use of banking channel that is attributed to continued efforts by the government and the central bank to attract inflows through official channels, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement.

Limited cross-border travel due to a second wave of coronavirus pandemic, and a flexible exchange rate regime also boosted remittances, it added.

Travel restrictions and introduction of digital apps for transferring money are the main reasons behind higher remittances among others, Samiullah Tariq, head of research and development at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, told Reuters.