The fierce debate over cryptocurrency continues in Pakistan, following the declaration of the Finance Minister and Revenue Minister, who proclaimed a ban on all types of cryptocurrencies and their transactions in the country. She added that cryptocurrency is a method of money laundering and devalues the country's currency and also that FATF demands to ban the cryptocurrency.
BANK CRACKDOWN AGAINST CRYPTOCURRENCY TRANSACTION
The announcement was made public two weeks before the reactions from banks. We recently heard news about Meezan Bank, Pakistan's largest Islamic bank. Meezan bank has presently suspended its service to cryptocurrency users. They claim that any overseas transfers in the form of trading, margins, or other transactions will be prohibited from using the Meezan bank facility.
If a transaction is made through Meezan Bank, they have the authority to freeze the funds until they provide explanation about the transaction. In other words, they are not willing to accept cryptocurrency transactions through bank services. According to the letter from the State Bank of Pakistan, all cryptocurrency transactions are absolutely prohibited.
This is a really concerning scenario for us because this is one of the main banks in Pakistan that has responded in this manner, and it is almost certain that other banks will follow likewise. There is a significant possibility that all banks in Pakistan would crack down on cryptocurrency and refuse to enable any transactions involving cryptocurrency trading/buying and selling.
According to Meezan Bank's CEO, "payment to such Forex trading, CFD trading, and Margin trading websites, apps, and platforms will no longer be processed through the bank's channel." The other remark concerning the detail may be found on their original website, where you can also read it. This is a clear message to all traders to discontinue using Meezan bank for all of these transactions.
Following this news, I opened the #Binance P2P method to check Meezan banks' service, but I still found the bank name in the transaction detail. According to my knowledge, they do not allow direct crypto transactions, but they do not prohibit indirect transfers via P2P when the transaction details are unclear. P2P allows you to exchange any cryptocurrency for FIAT currency and finish your transaction with any bank.
The advantage of P2P is that you can acquire cryptocurrency within a CEX (centralised exchange) and merely move fiat money from one account to another. This is beneficial in the sense that no transaction history will be kept at the banks against your transactions. However, there is one issue: huge amounts of transactions will be traced, and they are going to question you about this money, and if you are found guilty, your account will be frozen.
TRANSACTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY
This post is specifically for Pakistanis who use banks to transfer money from one account to the buyer/seller account. They must be cautious about their transaction since if the amount exceeds the limit, they will be questioned about it. It is preferable to transfer big sums of money to a friend or relative's account located outside of the country.
They will then cash out your money and ask you to transmit it via remittance for family support and other reasons. In my country, there is a big problem with the use and transfer of cryptocurrency. If we wish to cash out money from the #HIVE ecosystem, it has become a little more difficult because the amount we buy and sell may be traceable and recorded to FIA.
In any case, all Pakistani cryptocurrency users should exercise caution when transferring money, buying and selling the digital currency bitcoin. It is preferable not to transfer funds until the problem has been totally resolved. In the month of June, there will be another meeting about cryptocurrency and its rules. We must wait for that moment till the issue becomes clearer.
This is an effort on my side to inform you about the news of cryptocurrency transactions that are not permitted with Meezan bank. In addition, I discussed several preventive measures to take when buying and selling cryptocurrency. If you found this post useful, please leave a review in the comments section so that the future post can be even better. Thank you for sticking with me until the end.
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IMAGES AND GIF TAKEN FROM CANVA, EDITED IN CANVA
