Visas, Phones & Money · Travel
Money exchange in Pakistan for visitors: using foreign cards at ATMs, typical fees, banks vs exchange companies, and how much cash you can bring in or take out.
AI Summary
You can bring any amount of foreign currency into Pakistan, but you must declare it to Customs if it is over $10,000. Leaving, adults may take $5,000 per visit and $30,000 a year, and must declare it. SBP limits Pakistani rupee notes to Rs 3,000 in or out. Visa and Mastercard generally work at ATMs, with an access fee of about Rs 600 to Rs 1,500 (Wise, December 2024). Change cash at a bank or SBP-licensed exchange company and keep the encashment certificate.
For money exchange in Pakistan, use a bank or an exchange company licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). A bank should give you an encashment certificate: keep it. Visa and Mastercard cards generally work at Pakistani ATMs, with a local fee of about Rs 600 to Rs 1,500 per withdrawal (Wise, December 2024). You can bring in any amount of foreign cash, but you must declare anything over $10,000 to Customs.
Leaving is stricter: as of October 2026, adults can take out $5,000 per visit and must declare it. The details, with dates, are below.
| What | Rule or typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign cash you bring in | No limit; declare over $10,000 or equivalent | SBP manual; FBR SRO 2201 (Dec 2022) |
| Foreign cash you take out (adults) | $5,000 per visit, $30,000 per calendar year; always declared | FBR SRO 2201 (Dec 2022) |
| Foreign cash you take out (under 18) | $2,500 per visit, $15,000 per year | FBR SRO 2201 (Dec 2022) |
| Travel to Afghanistan | $1,000 per visit, $6,000 per year | FBR SRO 2201 (Dec 2022) |
| Pakistani rupee notes | Rs 3,000 per person in or out (Rs 500 to or from India) | SBP Foreign Exchange Manual |
| ATM fee for a foreign card | About Rs 600 to Rs 1,500 per withdrawal | Wise (Dec 2024) |
| ATM withdrawal limit | About Rs 20,000 to Rs 100,000 per withdrawal | Wise (Dec 2024) |
SBP’s website blocks automated checks, so we read SBP’s rules from its Foreign Exchange Manual PDFs, which did download, and from news reports. The cash limits are written into Pakistan’s Baggage Rules by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and we read that notice directly.
Usually, yes. Wise, a money transfer company, says Visa and Mastercard are generally accepted, while American Express and Discover are less common (December 2024). We found no official list of which Pakistani banks’ ATMs take foreign cards, so try another bank if one ATM refuses your card.
Two fees can apply to each withdrawal:
As of December 2024, Wise reported per-withdrawal limits from about Rs 20,000 to Rs 100,000, depending on the ATM. Because the access fee is charged per withdrawal, a few large withdrawals cost less than many small ones.
We couldn’t confirm bank-by-bank fees. Figures for named banks appear only on traveller forums, so we have left them out. Your home bank may also set its own daily limit.
You have two legal options, both regulated by SBP:
The 2023 reforms came amid a grey market for dollars, Geo News reported. We couldn’t check SBP’s current list of licensed exchange companies, because its website blocked us.
We found no dated source comparing rates at airports and in cities, so compare the rupee rate at two or three counters before you change a large sum.
When a bank buys your foreign currency, SBP rules say it should give you an encashment certificate, and it can also endorse the amount on your passport if you ask.
Keep it. SBP’s manual lets banks convert unspent rupees back into foreign currency for foreign tourists, without limit, when you show that certificate or the passport endorsement. The rule depends on that paper, so don’t throw it away.
We couldn’t confirm whether exchange companies offer the same reconversion, or what papers they ask a foreign visitor for. Ask before you change money.
Changing rupees back
Banks can reconvert unspent rupees without limit
Only with the encashment certificate or passport endorsement. SBP Foreign Exchange Manual, chapter XVII.
There is no limit on foreign currency notes you bring in, under SBP’s long-standing general permission. What changes with the amount is the paperwork: since December 2022, an incoming passenger carrying more than $10,000 or equivalent must file a currency declaration with Customs (FBR SRO 2201).
Pakistani rupee notes are different: SBP’s Foreign Exchange Manual allows only Rs 3,000 per person at a time (Rs 500 from India). A Dunya News report from February 2023 gave Rs 10,000 instead. We follow SBP as the regulator, so keep rupee notes to Rs 3,000 unless your bank or Customs confirms otherwise.
Currency must travel with you. SBP says notes sent into or out of Pakistan by post are illegal and can be confiscated.
As of October 2026, the limits in Pakistan’s Baggage Rules are:
SBP set these in November 2022, halving the earlier adult limits, and FBR wrote them into the Baggage Rules on 12 December 2022. We found no later change. Unlike arrivals, any foreign currency you take out must be declared, whatever the amount.
The $30,000 yearly limit also counts your international debit and credit card spending on Pakistani cards, Dawn reported in November 2022. This matters for residents more than for visitors with foreign cards.
The declaration form asks whether you carry prohibited goods, gold, jewellery, precious stones, foreign currency, or prohibited or restricted goods. You can file it online or at the airport.
Rules on buying foreign currency are aimed mainly at residents. In November 2025, Dawn reported that SBP stopped exchange companies giving resident citizens cash dollars for deposit into foreign currency accounts. Buying more than $500 now needs a stated purpose, biometric verification and supporting documents, including for travellers.
Exchange companies told Dawn the change does not stop people buying dollars for travel. If you are a visitor, the simpler route is to keep your encashment certificate and change leftover rupees back at a bank.
If you are Pakistani and travelling out, see our guides to virtual cards for online payments and dollar accounts. If family abroad send you money, compare ways to send money to Pakistan and using Wise in Pakistan.
Before you fly, check the Pakistan visa rules, the best SIM for visitors and whether Pakistan is safe to visit.
More guides: travel insurance for Pakistanis, Hunza or Skardu, all Visas, Phones & Money guides.
There is no limit on foreign currency you bring in, but you must declare it to Customs if it is over $10,000 or equivalent. Pakistani rupee notes are limited to Rs 3,000 per person under SBP rules.
As of October 2026, adults may take $5,000 per visit and $30,000 a year in foreign currency, and under-18s half that. Travel to Afghanistan is capped at $1,000 per visit and $6,000 a year. You must declare any foreign currency you take out.
Yes, Visa and Mastercard are generally accepted at ATMs, according to Wise; American Express and Discover less so. Pakistani ATMs charge foreign cards an access fee, about Rs 600 to Rs 1,500 as of December 2024, shown on screen before you confirm.
SBP rules let banks convert unspent rupees back for foreign tourists without limit, if you show the encashment certificate or the passport endorsement from when you changed money at a bank. Keep that slip.
Use a bank or an exchange company licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In September 2023 SBP told leading banks to set up their own exchange companies. We couldn't check SBP's current list of licensed companies because its website blocks automated checks.
Photo by Aqeel Ahmed Zia on Unsplash
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