🇵🇰 Pakistan Makes Facial Scans Mandatory for Foreign Currency Exchange from Jan 1, 2026

Pakistan is rolling out a major upgrade to its forex security system. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has officially directed all exchange companies to verify customers using facial recognition in addition to thumb and fingerprint scans.

This means that starting January 1, 2026, every individual buying or selling foreign currency will have to pass a dual biometric verification system.

🔹 What’s New?

According to the SBP circular:

The Ministry of Interior & Narcotics Control has instructed Nadra to integrate facial recognition into all biometric services.

Exchange companies must adopt this feature before the deadline.

Administrative and technical preparations must start immediately.

🏦 Current Verification System

Exchange companies already:

Use Nadra’s live system to verify thumbprints & fingerprints

Maintain CCTV footage for 6 months

Follow SBP’s KYC and anti-money-laundering protocols

Adding facial scans will help build a more uniform, tamper-proof verification process.

🔐 Why This Matters

▪︎Prevents identity fraud in currency transactions

▪︎Reduces illegal forex activity

▪︎Enhances transparency & compliance

▪︎Aligns Pakistan with global verification

standards

▪︎Boosts confidence in regulated exchange

companies

📌 Bottom Line

This move marks a major step toward a more secure and transparent forex market. With facial recognition becoming mandatory from Jan 1, 2026, customers should expect stricter but faster verification when buying or selling foreign currency in Pakistan.

#PakistanEconomy #SBP #ForexMarket #CurrencyExchange #Nadra #BiometricVerification #BinanceSquare #DigitalPakistan #KYC