ISLAMABAD – Senator Anusha Rehman, member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, stated that the actual cost of sending an SMS is only one to two paisa, yet banking customers are being charged Rs2.5–3.5 per message.
She alleged that both banks and telecom companies are profiting through price arbitrage. The senator called for an investigation into the matter.
She raised the concerns during a meeting of the standing committee under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla to discuss public concerns regarding additional charges imposed by banks for the use of mobile banking applications.
The meeting was attended by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir, while Senators Farooq H. Naek, the Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Chairman FBR, Presidents of Meezan Bank, HBL, and Habib Bank, along with representatives of telecom companies (TELCOs).
During the session, it was disclosed that banks and telecom companies do not handle SMS settlements directly. Instead, they rely on intermediaries, known as aggregators, who receive messages from the banks or telcos and deliver them to customers. The committee decided to revisit the issue in its next meeting after reviewing detailed information from both parties.
The Chairman of the Pakistan Banks Association informed the Committee that there are two types of charges. One is mandatory, imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan for banking SMS services, while the other is applied for services availed by customers with their consent.
It was further stated that the banking sector is paying approximately Rs. 25.6 billion to telecom companies for these services, while generating around Rs. 18.7 billion annually in return and bearing loss of Rs. 6.9 billion.
The Committee was also informed that TELCOs charges have increased by 88% since 2018. Representatives of telecom companies stated that each cellular provider approximately charging Rs. 3.40 per SMS for banking-related messages.
The Chairman Committee directed the relevant stakeholders to submit detailed data on the number of customers affected by mandatory SMS banking charges, along with the total number of customers availing additional SMS services by consent.
The Committee also directed to submit the detailed information regarding the charges each bank is paying to telecom companies.
The Committee further discussed the issue of non-provision of the budget honorarium announced by the Finance Minister to the medical and PTV staff deputed at Parliament House during the budget session. The Chairman Committee recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the Finance Minister for approval; otherwise, the Committee warned of action against non-compliance.
