KARACHI (Dunya News) - Banks across Pakistan will remain closed for public transactions today on the first of Ramadan due to the annual Zakat deduction process.
According to a statement issued by the State Bank of Pakistan, bank staff will carry out only the annual Zakat deduction from eligible accounts, and no public financial transactions will be conducted during the day.
The statement clarified that Zakat will not be deducted from current accounts. However, savings accounts and other profit-bearing accounts will be subject to Zakat deduction in accordance with the prescribed Nisab. For the current year, the Zakat Nisab has been set at Rs503,529. Zakat will be deducted from amounts exceeding this threshold in all applicable accounts except current accounts.
Meanwhile, banking hours have also been revised for the month of Ramadan. From Monday to Thursday, banks will operate from 9:00am to 2:00pm, while on Fridays, banking hours will be from 9:00am to 12:30pm.
Bank authorities have advised customers to plan their financial matters accordingly in light of the Zakat deduction process and the revised working hours during Ramadan.