Meezan Bank international money transfer: Your full guide

Meezan Bank is one of the largest Islamic banks in Pakistan and offers accounts and services to residents.¹ The bank offers a home remittance service to help residents of Pakistan to receive money from abroad.

Remittances, or another word for international money transfers, can be used for investing, saving, or supporting family. Learn more about Meezan’s home remittance service, how it works, and how to get money in Pakistan if you have family or friends overseas. Also, check out how to save money on international transfers to Pakistan.

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How to remit money to Pakistan with Meezan Bank

Meezan Bank has partnered with money transfer providers in different countries to make money transfers to local bank accounts in Pakistan. The service at Meezan Bank is called Easy Remit.

Senders can send transfers through the partners and Meezan Bank will make the money available once the transfer is received in Pakistan.

Recipients, those who are receiving money in Pakistan, can track the transfer with the transfer reference number right on the Meezan website.

Meezan has a list of correspondent money transfer partners in the following countries:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Europe
• Kuwait
• Oman
• Qatar
• South Africa
• UAE
• UK
• USA
• Worldwide partners (available globally and online)

But these partners are money transfer services, so they each have their own fees, exchange rate and ways to transfer. Some may allow for cash pick-up or direct bank transfers, or both. And they each have different delivery times.

It is a good idea to shop around and compare different money transfer services. Also, money transfer services that are not on the list could be cheaper and faster with direct bank transfers to Pakistan.

Receiving money internationally with Meezan Bank

Receiving money is easy with Meezan Bank. You can either receive money in a Meezan bank account or for cash pick up at a bank branch.

Transfer to bank account

A sender can send you money directly to a local bank account in Pakistan. Meezan Bank offers 3 different bank accounts to help make receiving money simple:

• Express Current Account: This account works like a typical Current account but makes it easy for receivers to get money directly into the account from abroad.
• Express Savings Account: This savings account lets receivers get money straight into the account and you can open the account easily with only a valid CNIC. There is no tax withholding on cash withdrawals by cheque or at an ATM from this account.
• Smart Remittance Wallet: This account is a wallet facility that can receive money from abroad. The money transfers can go straight into the wallet and recipients can benefit from a savings facility and benefits like free airtime for every dollar received.

The Meezan Easy Remit Express accounts are a good option for people who are receiving money from abroad regularly. Otherwise regular Meezan bank account holders can still receive funds from abroad in their normal bank account.

In all cases, make sure the sender has the accurate IBAN and account number so the funds are transferred into the correct account in Pakistan.

Cash pick up

Cash pick up is another option with Meezan Bank’s home remittance service. This lets the recipient receive the transfer in cash rupees.

Residents in Pakistan can pick up a maximum of Rs. 700,000 from any bank branch in the country when the funds are ready. This is a good option for residents that do not have a bank account in Pakistan because only the reference number and valid identification are required to get the funds.

Remember that the sender must choose a cash pick-up option when sending the transfer.

Meezan Bank international money transfer charges

Meezan Bank does not have any charges for receiving money from abroad to a Meezan bank account. It is free to receive money.

But there are fees that the sender will have to pay when sending the transfer. There are typically 2 main fees with international transfers. The first is a transaction fee, which is the cost of doing the money transfer. This is billed by the money transfer provider and the fee can be flat, variable, or a mix of both.

The second fee is an exchange rate fee. This fee is hidden in the exchange rate the sender gets when converting money into Pakistani Rupees. Some money transfer services will put a markup on the exchange rate and take a cut from every dollar or pound that is converted. You can find the markup when you compare the sender’s exchange rate with the exchange rate on Google. This difference can seem small, but it can add up quickly.

Let’s see what this can look like in a real transfer. Here is how money transfer providers compare when sending $1,000 US dollars to Pakistan. World Remit and OFX both have an exchange rate fee but no transfer fee, but Wise uses the real exchange rate on every transfer:

As of 21 October, 2022

With Wise, you can send more rupees to Pakistan. Wise’s low transfer fee and real exchange rate save money on fees so recipients can receive more in their account.

Send money to Pakistan with Wise

Here are the quick steps to get started on your first transfer:

1. Go to the Wise website or download the Wise app on iOS or Google Play Store
2. Register for free with your email address, Google account, or Facebook login
3. Confirm your email address
4. Start your transfer by putting in how much you want to send
5. Review the amount in Pakistani Rupees, fees, and delivery date
6. Pay for your transfer with a bank transfer, debit, or credit card
7. Submit your transfer
8. You’re done! You will be notified when the money is on the way.

On popular routes like the US to Pakistan, the money can arrive in approximately 30 minutes. Over 13 million people around the world use Wise to send money globally. Join for free and see how much you can save the next time you send money to Pakistan.

• Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.
• The speed of transaction claim depends on funds availability, approval by Wise’s proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners’ banking system, and may not be available for all transactions

Time it takes to receive money with Meezan Bank

Residents in Pakistan can typically receive money immediately with Meezan Bank once the transfer has been processed and sent. But this depends on the correspondent or partner service that the sender has used. Depending on which one is chosen, transfer providers can take an hour or they can take a few days to process a transfer to Pakistan.

Meezan Bank will notify receivers in Pakistan by SMS once the money is available. So ensure that your sender has your correct mobile number so you can stay updated on the transfer.

Meezan Bank remittance limit

Meezan Bank’s home remittance service, Meezan Easy Remit, lets residents in Pakistan pick up a maximum of Rs. 700,000 in cash from a bank branch. There is no maximum limit for direct-to-bank account transfers.

But the sender may have a limit on how much they can send to Pakistan. Check with your sender and the transfer provider to learn what the maximum amount they can send.²