Checked · Tax year 2027
Foreign transaction fee calculator for Pakistani cardsHow big is the jhatka?
Pay for anything in dollars, euros or dirhams with a Pakistani card and your bank quietly adds a fee, a tax on that fee and an advance tax. Type the amount and see what every bank and wallet really takes, and where each number comes from.
The jhatka board
Every card, ranked by what you actually pay
- Rate gap
- Bank fee
- Tax on fee
- Advance tax 236Y
- Sindh IT tax
Couldn't verify (yet) — 10 cards left out on purpose
How it adds up
Your money passes five toll booths
Following your payment through a typical big-bank debit card (HBL, 4%).
- Merchant's price$20.00Other currencies are turned into dollars first, at the market rate.
- Bank's dollar rateRs 5,541The rate the bank buys dollars at.
- Foreign transaction fee+ Rs 221.644% of the rupee amount.
- Tax on the fee+ Rs 35.46Provincial sales tax, charged on the fee only.
- Advance tax 236Y+ Rs 27.710.5% for filers, claimable when you file.
- On your statementRs 5,825.81That's the jhatka.each step's source
Fine print
Before you tap your card
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The tax dropped by 90%, but some banks still print the old rate
Until 30 Jun 20265%non-filers 10%From 1 Jul 20260.5%non-filers 1%The Finance Act 2026 cut Section 236Y to 0.5% / 1% (FBR rate card). Meezan's and Bank Alfalah's July–December schedules and SadaPay's page still print 5% / 10%, because they were drafted before the budget. Check your statement: if 5% was taken after 1 July, complain to your bank.
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Filers get the 236Y back
It's an advance tax, listed as “adjustable”: it counts against your yearly income tax when you file a return. Non-filers pay double, and it only counts if they file.
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Tiny payments get hammered
Some banks have a minimum fee. On a $1 app purchase, MCB's Rs 100 minimum makes the fee alone about 36% of the price. Bundle small purchases, or use a card without a minimum.
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USD 30,000 a year, per person
SBP sets an annual limit of USD 30,000 per person on international card payments, and says cards are for personal needs only.
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“Pay in PKR?” is still international
A foreign site or a shop abroad that charges you in rupees is still a cross-border payment: the bank's fee and 236Y still apply, and some issuers add conversion costs on top (NayaPay's help centre says so). Abroad, choose the local currency.
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Declined payments can cost money
MCB charges Rs 110 per declined international payment. Meezan charges Rs 99 after every 10th decline, Raqami Rs 50 after the 10th, and NayaPay allows 5 free failures. Turn on international use before you pay.
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Fee waivers come and go
Meezan waived its fee for September 2026 and HBL for June–July 2026 on its USD card. Both have ended. This page shows the standard rates.
Bank by bank
Card charges at every bank and wallet
Each bank's fee on foreign payments and cash abroad, with worked examples in rupees and the source of every figure highlighted.
- HBLDebit 4% · Credit 4% · USD debit 4%
- MeezanDebit 4% · FCY debit 3%
- Bank AlfalahDebit 4.5% · Credit 4.5% (min Rs 125)
- MCBDebit 4.4% (min Rs 100) · Credit 4% (min Rs 100)
- Allied BankDebit 4% (min Rs 100) · Credit up to 4%
- RaqamiVisa debit 4%
- Mashreq NEONEO debit 4%
- BankIslamiDebit 4%
- SadaPayMastercard 6% (+Rs 55 up to Rs 800)
- ZindigiVisa debit 1%
- Bank of PunjabDebit 4.25%
- Bank AL HabibVisa Platinum debit 4.5% · Credit 4.5%
- UBLCredit 4.5% (min Rs 100)
- AskariCredit 4.85%
- JS BankCredit 5% (min Rs 450)
- Standard CharteredCredit up to 6% + Re 1/USD
- Faysal BankNoor credit 4.5%
Questions
Card charges abroad, answered
How much do Pakistani banks charge on international card payments?
Most big banks charge 4% to 4.5% of the rupee amount as a foreign transaction fee: HBL 4%, Meezan 4%, MCB 4.4% (min Rs 100) and Bank Alfalah 4.5%. Among wallets, Zindigi charges 1% and SadaPay 6% (+Rs 55 up to Rs 800), both with tax included. Banks then add provincial sales tax on the fee (15–16%) and 0.5% advance tax under Section 236Y (1% for non-filers). On a $20 payment, a typical big-bank debit card adds about 5.1% in all. See every card's fee.
What is the 236Y tax on card payments abroad?
It's an advance income tax that banks deduct when you pay abroad with a credit, debit or prepaid card (Section 236Y). Since 1 Jul 2026 it is 0.5% for people on FBR's Active Taxpayers List and 1% for everyone else, down from 5% and 10%. It is adjustable: it counts against your yearly income tax when you file a return.
Do banks charge tax on the foreign transaction fee?
Yes. Provincial sales tax on services is added to the bank's fee, not to your purchase, at the rate of the province where your account's branch is: Punjab 16%, Sindh 15%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 15% and Balochistan 15%. Bank of Punjab's schedule says none is recovered at Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan branches. SadaPay and Zindigi quote their fees with tax included.
Why is there an extra 3% on Netflix and other subscriptions in Sindh?
Sindh charges 3% sales tax on foreign IT services, including streaming, software and cloud, and banks collect it when an account in Sindh pays a provider abroad. It applies to accounts in Sindh only, and not to ATM cash.
Which Pakistani card is cheapest for paying in dollars?
For a $20 card payment by a filer with an account in Punjab, Zindigi Visa debit costs the least: Rs 5,624.22 in total, 1.5% more than the market rate. JS Bank credit card costs the most, at Rs 6,090.81. Cards with a minimum fee, like MCB's Rs 100, cost far more on small payments. These figures use the 28 Oct 2026 rate of Rs 277.05 per dollar; the calculator uses today's.
What exchange rate do Pakistani banks use for card payments?
The rate at which the bank buys the dollars to settle your payment. HBL's card FAQ says exactly that, and MCB's schedule says it settles at the interbank rate or by buying dollars in the open market. The open market was about 1.0% dearer on 28 Oct 2026, and MCB charges that difference separately on its credit cards.
Is there a limit on spending abroad with a Pakistani card?
Yes. The State Bank of Pakistan has set an annual limit of USD 30,000 per person for international card payments, and says cards are for personal needs only.
How much does an ATM withdrawal abroad cost?
Banks charge a percentage with a minimum per withdrawal: HBL 4% (min Rs 300), Meezan 4% (min Rs 600), MCB 4.5% (min Rs 100) and Bank Alfalah 4% (min Rs 400). Tax on the fee and 236Y come on top. Credit cards aren't compared for cash withdrawals.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the banks' own schedules of charges (mostly for July–December 2026), FBR's withholding tax rate card, an SBP press release and Big-4 tax briefs. 6 credit cards come from which.pk, citing the banks' documents, and are marked “Reported”. Every figure on Jhatka links to its document with the exact line highlighted: see all 35 documents.
The paper trail
Every number, with its receipt
Each figure above links back to the document it came from. Official PDFs are hosted here so you can open them at the exact page. For web pages, we captured screenshots with the address and time. Nothing on this page comes from memory or guesswork.