In a significant turn of events, the Pakistani rupee experienced a notable appreciation against the US dollar in the open-market on Thursday.
The value of the US dollar dropped to the range of Rs295-300, compared to the previous day’s rate of Rs314. This shift can be attributed to recent changes implemented by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to facilitate cross-border transactions.
Currency dealers consulted by Business Recorder acknowledged that the supply of US dollars remains limited in the market, as customers are not actively selling their currency. This scarcity could be a contributing factor to the rupee’s recent surge in value.
According to experts, the recent development is a direct result of the SBP’s decision to allow credit card payments through banks. The SBP, on Wednesday, permitted banks to purchase US dollars from the interbank market for settling card-based cross-border transactions with International Payment Schemes (IPSs).
Previously, the SBP guidelines only permitted authorized dealers to purchase US dollars from exchange companies for settling card-based cross-border transactions with IPSs such as Visa and MasterCard.
However, in response to stakeholder feedback, the SBP opted to extend this privilege to banks, allowing them to source dollars from the interbank market for such transactions.
