Pakistan is moving to strengthen identity controls in its foreign-exchange market, directing exchange companies to add facial recognition to existing biometric verification processes for customers buying or selling foreign currency.
New instructions issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), referencing the country’s Regulatory Framework for Exchange Companies, require all exchange companies to incorporate facial recognition into their biometric workflows by 1 January 2026. Today, exchange firms are already required to verify customers’ identities through the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) using thumb and fingerprint scans. The new rules extend that obligation to dual-modality verification, combining fingerprints with facial recognition as part of the same NADRA-backed service.
The move follows guidance from the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control, which has instructed NADRA to upgrade its verification services with facial recognition to provide more uniform security across identification systems. Exchange companies are being told to take all necessary administrative and technical measures to meet the deadline, including ensuring their systems can capture and submit high-quality facial images.
Recent coverage of the SBP circular notes that money changers must already capture customer images and retain CCTV footage for at least six months as part of their compliance obligations. The new requirements are designed to add an additional real-time biometric check against government records, reducing the risk of impersonation, document fraud, and the use of proxies for illicit forex transactions.
For financial institutions and CISOs, the change underscores how biometric identity verification is becoming embedded in core financial-market infrastructure, not just digital banking. With Pakistan also tightening digital onboarding and KYC controls in its banking sector, extending biometrics into the physical forex market is part of a broader push to close gaps that might be exploited for money laundering, capital flight, or terrorism financing.
How effectively the new regime deters fraud will depend on implementation details, including the accuracy of NADRA’s facial recognition, how well exchange companies secure their capture devices and connectivity, and how rigorously regulators audit compliance once the 2026 deadline passes.
Sources: Profit (Pakistan Today), Samaa TV, Aaj TV
—
By the ID Tech Editorial Team
