Bio-metric verification: Foreign currency account holders facing problems

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of foreign currency account holders are facing innumerable problems because of banking sector requirements of complying bio-metric verification for continuation of operation of their bank accounts.

The banking sector has launched exercise to Know Your Customer (KYC) in a bid to comply with compliance condition of FATF and other regulatory bodies but it was launched without proper information of customers. Now it has resulted into creating a lot of difficulties for the customers because they are facing difficulties to draw the amounts just ahead of Eid.

One senior official of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that they did not issue any such instructions to banks for blocking anyone’s accounts. However, the banks have received instructions from their head offices directing strict compliance for foreign currency (FCY) accounts for proper remediation and activation is required.

In their internal directives, it stated that the decision to block all FCY accounts not remediated as part of our remediation exercise is socialized with almost all the audience and the relevant business heads and their representatives.

These accounts were blocked till the accounts get remediated. The accounts will be activated once the remediation over these FCY accounts is completed, it added. One affected person told this scribe that the biometric verification was required in haste without properly informing the customers. Few days left before Eid and the customers were unable to draws their amounts.

Only today (Friday) and coming Monday have been left before Eid after which the country will remain closed before of holidays so the customers were in lurch what to do to draw money from their bank accounts ahead of upcoming Eid.