Money arriving in Pakistan from Australia for family support and money arriving as payment for work fall under different chapters of the State Bank of Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Manual. Family support is an inward home remittance under Chapter 10. Payment for digital or online work performed in Pakistan is export proceeds under Chapter 12, which requires an Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Account alongside the rupee account.
Two of the commonest reasons for sending money from Australia to Pakistan are handled under different chapters of the State Bank of Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Manual, and the purpose decides which. Support for family is a home remittance under Chapter 10. Payment for digital or online work is export proceeds under Chapter 12.
Key Takeaways
- Chapter 10 covers family support as a home remittance; Chapter 12 covers payment for digital or online work as export proceeds.
- A person in Pakistan paid for online work by someone in Australia is, in the State Bank's printed definition, a freelancer receiving export proceeds.
- Chapter 12 requires an Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Account beside the rupee account, holding USD 5,000 a month or 50 per cent of proceeds, whichever is higher, under EPD Circular Letter No. 17 of 23 October 2023.
- FE Circular No. 04 of 22 August 2009 sets credit deadlines and gives the beneficiary sixty five paisa per thousand rupees per day when a bank misses them.
- Where there is no contract to show, the freelancer route runs on a self-declaration given once, at account opening, rather than on paperwork per payment.
Why does one corridor have two sets of rules?
The Foreign Exchange Manual is the State Bank of Pakistan's rulebook for Authorized Dealers, the institutions licensed to handle foreign exchange. Its chapters are organised by what a payment is. Chapter 10 is titled Inward and Outward Remittances; Chapter 12 is titled Exports. Chapters 14 and 16 cover money leaving Pakistan, not arriving.
| What it is | Family support | Payment for digital or online work |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter | 10, Inward and Outward Remittances | 12, Exports |
| The money is | a home remittance | export proceeds |
| Account required | the beneficiary's own account | rupee account plus an Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Account |
| Entitlement | credit deadlines, with 65 paisa per thousand rupees per day if missed (FE Circular No. 04 of 2009) | USD 5,000 a month or 50 per cent retained, whichever is higher (EPD Circular Letter No. 17 of 2023) |
Who does the State Bank count as a freelancer?
The definition is printed in Chapter 12, paragraph 12, footnoted to EPD Circular Letter No. 17 dated 23 October 2023:
"Freelancers mean all individuals, resident in Pakistan, engaged in provision of any digital/online services, including IT and IT related services, against which payments are received from outside Pakistan."
Nothing in it turns on the size of the payment or the number of clients. The limit is in the words themselves: the service has to be a digital or online one. Someone in Pakistan paid by a person in Australia for design work, software work, online writing or online tutoring is inside the definition, and what arrives is export proceeds.
That is the case an ordinary reader is least likely to expect. The sender may be a relative and the transfer identical to last month's. The chapter follows the purpose.
What does Chapter 12 change at the receiving end?
It adds a second account. Under paragraph 12, Authorized Dealers "shall open Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs) of all such exporters (IT companies & freelancers) concurrently while opening the primary PKR account".
Paragraph 12, footnoted to EPD Circular Letter No. 17 of 23 October 2023, sets what may be held there. IT companies and freelancers "shall be allowed to retain USD 5,000/- per month or 50% of the export proceeds, whichever is higher", and Authorized Dealers "shall mandatorily credit permissible retained amounts in these ESFCAs, unless an exporter specifically requests in writing" otherwise. Balances convert into rupees at any time on the customer's request.
For freelancers, the balance covers "all personal and own work related payments of current account nature", naming digital services, subscription fees, certification and study as examples, without approval from the State Bank.
What happens when there is no contract?
Paragraph 12 provides a route: "For Freelancers, the export proceeds could also be processed on self-declaration basis, where underlying export agreements/contracts are not available." The declaration is obtained "once at the time of opening of account", not on each payment. The steps a transfer takes before it reaches any of this are set out in how international money transfers work.
What does the home-remittance side guarantee?
A service standard with a compensation rate attached. Chapter 10, paragraph 4, footnoted to FE Circular No. 04 dated 22 August 2009 and operating through PSD Circular No. 02/2009 of the same date, requires banks to put a mechanism in place covering four cases:
- Beneficiary at the same bank: the amount "will be credited to the beneficiary's account instantly".
- Beneficiary at a different bank: the recipient bank must give credit to the other bank "maximum within 24 hours of the receipt of funds", and the beneficiary's own bank credits instantly.
- Pay order or demand draft: issued and dispatched "within 24 hours of receipt of funds".
- Cash over the counter: the funds are available "instantly".
Where that does not happen, "the beneficiary shall be entitled to a return of sixty five (65) paisa per thousand rupees per day for the number of days credit/payment on account of remittance was delayed". A paisa is one hundredth of a rupee, and the entitlement belongs to the beneficiary in Pakistan, not the sender in Australia. Where the State Bank notes a tendency to delay, penalties follow on such banks under the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962.
What the rules do not say
The two chapters set out what each category of money is and which account it belongs in. Neither publishes a penalty for a sender or a recipient who describes a payment wrongly, and none is claimed here. The declaration described above is made by the account holder in Pakistan, to their own bank, once, at the point the account is opened. The AUD to PKR corridor page carries the rate; this page carries the rulebook the money meets when it lands.
Where to look next
- AUD to PKR rate and converter - the corridor page for Australian dollars into Pakistani rupees.
- Convert AUD to PKR - the same pair with an amount table.
- Currency converter - convert an amount between two currencies.
- How international transfers work - the general process, including why a transfer can be held or returned.
Sources
- State Bank of Pakistan, Foreign Exchange Manual, chapter index: https://www.sbp.org.pk/laws-regulations/foreign-exchange-manual
- Chapter 10, Inward and Outward Remittances: https://www.sbp.org.pk/assets/document/Chapter-10-foreign-exchange-manual.pdf
- Chapter 12, Exports: https://www.sbp.org.pk/assets/document/Chapter-12-foreign-exchange-manual.pdf
General information about sending money to Pakistan, describing published rules rather than any particular transfer, and not a recommendation of any provider, bank or account. Tradergy is not a money-transfer service, keeps no account and collects no personal data. Reviewed by the Tradergy editorial team, September 2026.
Common questions
Is money sent for family treated the same as money sent for work done?
No. Family support is an inward home remittance under Chapter 10 of the Foreign Exchange Manual. Payment for a digital or online service performed in Pakistan is export proceeds under Chapter 12.
Who does the State Bank of Pakistan count as a freelancer?
Chapter 12, paragraph 12, footnoted to EPD Circular Letter No. 17 dated 23 October 2023, defines freelancers as individuals resident in Pakistan providing digital or online services paid for from outside Pakistan.
What is an Exporters' Special Foreign Currency Account?
A foreign currency account Authorized Dealers must open for IT companies and freelancers alongside the primary rupee account. EPD Circular Letter No. 17 of 2023 allows USD 5,000 a month or 50 per cent of export proceeds to be retained in it, whichever is higher.
What if a freelancer has no written contract?
Chapter 12, paragraph 12 allows export proceeds to be processed on a self-declaration basis where underlying agreements are not available. The declaration is obtained once, when the account is opened.
What happens if a home remittance is credited late?
Chapter 10, paragraph 4, footnoted to FE Circular No. 04 dated 22 August 2009, entitles the beneficiary to sixty five paisa per thousand rupees per day for each day the credit was delayed.