Pakistan opens bank accounts to licensed VASPs

Pakistan’s central bank has told banks they can open accounts for licensed virtual-asset firms, reversing a 2018 block on crypto-linked banking. (brecorder.com) The State Bank of Pakistan listed the change in BPRD Circular Letter No. 10, dated April 14, 2026, as “Authorizing Opening of Bank Accounts to PVARA’s NOC/Licensed VASPs and their Customers.” (sbp.org.pk) The new route is limited to firms approved by the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or PVARA, which says exchanges, wallet operators, custodians and investment platforms must obtain a formal license and that it is currently accepting no-objection-certificate applications as the first step. (pvara.gov.pk) Banks must verify each firm’s PVARA approval before onboarding it, keep segregated non-interest-bearing client accounts in Pakistani rupees, and handle due diligence and suspicious-transaction reporting under anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing rules. (brecorder.com) The State Bank did not open the door to banks holding crypto themselves. Reuters reported that banks still cannot invest in or hold virtual assets with their own funds or with customer funds. (channelnewsasia.com) That is a sharp change from April 6, 2018, when the State Bank’s Banking Policy and Regulations Department issued Circular No. 3 telling banks, development finance institutions, microfinance banks, payment system operators and payment service providers not to deal in virtual currencies or tokens. (sbp.org.pk) The bank later said that 2018 step reflected the absence of a legal and regulatory framework, “not because it was declared illegal in the country.” The clarification came in a State Bank press release on May 30, 2025. (sbp.org.pk) Pakistan now has that framework on the books. The Virtual Assets Act, 2026 appears in Pakistan Code, and PVARA says the law created the country’s first comprehensive regime for licensing and supervising virtual-asset businesses. (pakistancode.gov.pk, pvara.gov.pk) Officials have also been courting large crypto groups. Reuters reported that Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with Binance in December to explore tokenizing as much as $2 billion in assets and gave initial clearances to Binance and HTX to begin licensing, while also striking a January deal with a World Liberty Financial affiliate on stablecoin-based cross-border payments. (brecorder.com) For crypto companies in Pakistan, the immediate change is basic but important: a licensed firm can now seek a regulated bank account instead of operating outside the formal banking system. The next gate is still the same one the State Bank set this week — get licensed, pass compliance checks, and stay inside the new rulebook. (sbp.org.pk, pvara.gov.pk)