Every month, millions of Pakistanis in Riyadh, Dubai, Manchester and Houston send money home. Most of it pays for school fees, groceries, medical bills and, for many families, property installments. From October 2026, that same monthly transfer can also earn your family a chance to win a serious prize. The State Bank of Pakistan and the country's banks have launched the Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme, with a prize pool of PKR 4 billion every quarter and a top prize of PKR 100 million. Here's how it works, who qualifies, and the small details that decide whether your family's account is in the draw.
What is the Pasban scheme?
Pasban is a prize scheme launched in September 2026 by the State Bank of Pakistan together with the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA), as reported by ARY News. It's funded entirely by the banking industry, not by the government, and its aim is simple: encourage overseas Pakistanis to send money through formal banking channels instead of informal ones. 1LINK runs the technology behind the draws.
The prize pool is PKR 4 billion per quarter, or about PKR 16 billion a year, spread across more than 10,000 winners annually.
The prizes, every quarter
That's 2,521 prizes every quarter. According to the launch reporting, prizes are allocated by region: 50% to remittances from the GCC, 15% from the UK, 15% from Europe, 10% from North America and 10% from other countries, with the first prize open to all regions. Prizes are paid into the winning account, with tax deducted at source.
Who qualifies
This is the part to read carefully, because the scheme rewards the receiver in Pakistan, not the sender abroad.
- The account: a personal Pakistani rupee account (single or joint) or an eligible mobile wallet at a participating bank. The same account must be used throughout the quarter.
- The amount: each remittance must be at least USD 100 (or equivalent) to earn an entry.
- The consistency rule: the account must receive at least USD 100 in each of three consecutive months within the quarter. Miss a month, and that quarter's entries don't count.
- The cost: nothing. There's no registration, no fee and no minimum balance. Entries are generated automatically from bank data.
How entries are counted
The more you send, the more entries you get. At its simplest, each USD 100 equivalent earns roughly one entry. The launch example: if your family receives USD 100, USD 200 and USD 300 over three consecutive months, that's 1, 2 and 3 entries, for 6 in total. 1LINK's official page gives the exact bands for amounts between round hundreds, so check there or with your bank for the precise count.
What doesn't count
According to 1LINK and participating banks, the following are excluded:
- Roshan Digital Account inflows. This surprises many overseas Pakistanis. Money sent into your own RDA doesn't earn Pasban entries.
- Foreign currency accounts.
- Cash collected over the counter unless it's credited to an account.
- Company accounts.
- Staff of SBP, PBA, 1LINK and participating banks.
Key dates
1LINK's FAQ describes the scheme as running until further announcement. Check the official terms for the latest.
A practical tip for families paying property installments
Many of our overseas clients send money home every month to pay installments on a plot or house, whether it's an Etihad Town overseas block plot or a DHA file. If that money goes into a family member's personal rupee account first, at least USD 100 every month, it can count towards Pasban. If it goes straight to a developer's company account, it won't, because company accounts are excluded.
So it can make sense to route your monthly installment money through a trusted family member's personal account, and have them pay the developer from there. Just keep a clean paper trail: bank receipts for every transfer and official receipts from the developer for every installment. If someone in Pakistan handles payments for you, a specific power of attorney protects you. See our guide to giving power of attorney from Saudi or UAE.
Remember: Pasban is a lucky draw, not a return on investment. Don't change a sound plan, or delay a payment, just to chase entries.
Watch out for scams
Whenever a prize scheme launches in Pakistan, fake calls and messages follow. Keep these rules in mind:
- You never need to pay a fee to enter or to claim a prize.
- Results show winning entry numbers, not names, and are published on the 1LINK website, through participating banks and in the media.
- If your account wins, your own bank will contact you. Don't share OTPs, PINs or card details with anyone claiming to be from Pasban.
The bottom line
Pasban gives families who regularly receive money from abroad a free chance at life changing prizes, simply for using the banking system. The rules are easy to meet if you send at least USD 100 every month into the same personal rupee account. For more on moving money home safely and putting it to work, read our guides on sending money safely from Saudi or UAE and investing your remittances safely. If you're planning a property purchase back home, our team works with overseas Pakistanis every day.
