Members of the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia have welcomed the launch of ‘Fast Cash' a free remittance service that does not require a bank account for either the remitter or the beneficiary. ‘Fast Cash' is a tie up between Saudi bank Tahweel Al-Rajhi and Habib Bank Limited (HBL), one of the oldest banks in Pakistan. It was launched in Riyadh last week. Nayeem Jameel, a non-resident Pakistani from Marbalochan, a village in Shaikhupura, Lahore, said the biggest hurdle for Pakistanis living in far-flung areas was the lack of banks. Most Pakistanis remit their savings through hawala (a non-banking system) agents that deliver money to people's doorsteps. However, the growing number of products such as ‘Fast Cash' will certainly attract more Pakistanis to traditional banking channels, he said. “I have been remitting through a bank but it takes time before the money reaches my family living in Marbalochan, a small village with 100,000 inhabitants. However, my village has a HBL branch and that has convinced me to remit through ‘Fast Cash',” he said. Raheemullah Khan, a taxi driver from Deer, a small village in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, has been sending money in Saudi riyal to his family either through hawala or with friends who go on vacation to Peshawar, a city in the North Western Frontier Province. “My friends take the riyals with them and hand over the equivalent in Pakistani rupee to my brothers. It takes about two to three days before the amount reaches there,” he said. Khan said he was pleased to know that HBL and Tahweel Al-Rajhi are involved. He said HBL has a branch about five kilometers from Deer, which his relatives can reach easily to receive money. “It fascinates me that the remittance is free of charge and requires no bank account. We are poor people, who know very little about banking transactions. I will also inform my community colleagues to use this unique remittance facility,” he said with a broad smile. Shahzad Hussain, a customer care agent at a polyclinic in Riyadh urged HBL to address the problem of bureaucracy to make the remittance service more attractive. He said he has been remitting his hard-earned savings through a bank and despite claims that the money would be handed over within minutes, it sometime takes a while before the amount is delivered. “The recipients in Pakistan have to go through so many formalities before receiving the money,” he said. Hazem Elhagrasey, head of Tahweel Al-Rajhi said that with the cash-to-cash service the customers of Tahweel can send money to Pakistan and be assured that the beneficiary will receive the payment in cash within minutes. He said “Fast Cash” is offered to customers free-of-charge as part of the State Bank of Pakistan's program to reward customers who send money to Pakistan through the banking system. The reputation of the banks behind the product ensures security and reliability, he said. “Remittances will be paid up to 500,000 Pakistani rupee at any of the 1,450 Habib Bank Limited branches across Pakistan. In addition, as an added service, the beneficiary will get an SMS alerting them that the remittance is available for pick-up at no additional cost,” he said. For account holders, remittances can be sent via more than 2,000 ATMs spread across the Kingdom. At the product launch last week was Tariq Matin Khan, HBL's general manager for financial institutions and international banking and Pakistan embassy officials.
