Bitcoin Forum

I need the receiver in Pakistan to be able to receive the money in their own currency.

To do this, a bank-wire from Wells Fargo bank costs me $45.
Western Union and MoneyGram charge fees as well, and require tons of paperwork to be provided.

Are there any good, reliable and honest Bitcoin exchanges in Pakistan that will convert to their currency?

I have an actual need for remittances using bitcoin if this is possible. This is supposed to be one of bitcoin's great uses. Can I do it?

Remittances doesn't benefit Bitcoin. Bitcoin wants to be the mode of payment and be used as a currency. Remittances mean getting in and out of Bitcoin which is not too attractive.

I'm not sure if there is any good exchange for Pakistan so far. We are going to launch www.100bit.co.in very soon, where Pakistani rupee will be supported. So, you might like to check us back.

WTF?!

I am shocked how dumb the bitcoin community is.  Why do you care to 'benefit Bitcoin'?  The guy wants money in Pakistan - he doesn't want to 'benefit Bitcoin'.  So many people here think 'buying and holding' to pump up the price is the real function of bitcoin.  This is not a big pump and dump.  bitcoin should benefit this guy and his family - not the other way around.

As to the OP - you are have to find someone in Pakistan who wants to buy bitcoin.  That is pretty much the bottom line.  But look on the Brightside - this probably won't be a problem in any major city in about 1 or 2 years.  Today, it might be tricky to find a trustworthy exchange partner.  But, there is no way around this if you need local currency.  

I don't know whether there are any reliable exchanges in Pakistan, but you can always try localbitcoins, there are a few listed for Pakistan:

https://localbitcoins.com/country/PK (https://localbitcoins.com/country/PK)



That's still better than not using bitcoin at all, isn't it?

I was pointing out in response to the OP's statement that 'This is supposed to be one of bitcoin's great uses.' It was not meant to say its not possible or shouldn't be supported or that its not a priority.

This is a narrow-minded view and not what my OP even asked for.

If you just want the value of bitcoin to go up. But even then, without real-world uses, nobody will be *holding* bitcoin for any period of time. Yes money remittances mean buying and selling bitcoin. But that's what I need it for in this case.



^ THANK YOU

I think it helps. If we are going to use it as a worldwide currency, we should expect that people will buy and sell as per their need. Maybe one day they won't feel the need to sell it as they would be able to buy stuff directly from it, until then this will have to do.

Not sure if this an good option, as I'm not sure of the fees involved:

https://urdubit.com/

Like the others posted, if you can find a good seller in LocalBitcoins, maybe that's the best way.

I don't really care about Bitcoin value. I believe we are on a cusp of a revolution and Bitcoin is showing the way.

Besides there are other alternatives (still in nascent stages) built on the Bitcoin tech which are more suited to remittances and use it as part of its business model.

Regarding your original query, you should be careful you're not breaking any laws - look them up.

Hmm, so basically I am currently out of luck for all practical intents. I don't know of anyone who would buy bitcoin in Pakistan and it would be too much hassle to ask my business contact to sell it that way. I need it to be seamless.

So it seems we have a way to go. It sounds like I will unfortunately have to continue to use Western Union and Bankwire's with huge fees for years to come.

Basically we just need trustworthy exchanges in every city as you say.

Look above at the link I posted:

http://www.coindesk.com/pakistans-first-bitcoin-exchange-launches-community-building-ambitions/

Again, I don't know the fee structure for trades made, but there is at least 1 trustworthy exchange in Pakistan now.

So what's wrong with localbitcoins or https://urdubit.com/ (https://urdubit.com/)? Isn't that what you were looking for?

Yes, that is what I was looking for. I didn't see Chuck's reply when I posted last. Thanks for that link.

I checked out urdubit.com and I spoke with them just now.

They said it is a 1% fee to withdraw and 0.75% to trade. So that is 1.75% fees. If I send $3000 to Pakistan then that's about $52 in fees. No better still :\

1% withdrawal is a lot. If you're planning on doing that often, maybe they'll be able to offer you a better deal. Otherwise try localbitcoins, you can get in touch with the buyer (use the trusted ones) and negotiate the best price.

Recently there have been some news about a few remittance companies (using bitcoin for transfers) starting up in Asia, so hopefully there will be more options soon.


ps. just recalled that Urdubit have a thread on this forum, if that's any help:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=820628.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=820628.0)

Of course. Send private key of the interested address at your friend and then give it to your pakistan friend (I guess), your pakistan friend then will convert bitcoin in its local value :)

Even if its for one time, it may be possible to do a transaction in person and avoid the fees. The fees are mainly the escrow ones and necsessary to secure the transaction which is not needed for a face to face transaction. The other party also gains more in that case and may be willing to do it.

Why the necessity of sending private key? Private key shouldnt be transferred and should be kept to self as much a spossible.

The problem here is converting Bitcoin to the local value.

You should double check with this exchange to see if it's possible to use for Pakistan:

https://www.igot.com/

They convert to the Indian Rupee, so maybe call or email them to see if it's possible for PKR.

Make another thing. Convert bitcoin in US dollar and then change it in some local exchange in Pakistan. Is this possible? I guess yes, every country of the world has a local exchange :O

There is no local exchange in Pakistan which is the issue. They have an equivalent to localbitcoins which may be the only option in this case.

They don't. Any such service requires proper regulatory clearances and KYC compliances, not to mention interfacing with banks.

I repeat, OP should check the relevant foreign exchange laws in his country otherwise he may land in trouble. Its not worth trying to save a percent or two and then ending up in a legal hot soup.

Nobody likes reading my posts?   :D

I've posted twice about https://urdubit.com/

OP's only qualm about it is the 1.75% total trading fee.

You could but if your friend wants to withdraw that bitcoin into indian currency then you would need to look into what exchange he would use.

I used to think it was localbitcoins only. Sorry if its not.


Pakistan currency is needed, not Indian. There may be Indian currency in circulation is Pakistan but thats not what is being asked for.

Wouldn't localbitcoin be a good way of withdrawing? It's simple I don't know how much you are trying to convert but some people are willing to buy 100 Bitcoin worth on the site.

Check localbitcoins for people who will exchange btc to cash in your area.

You could send payment with Bitcoin and then the receiver of the funds could convert the BTC to Pakistan currency OR to USD/EUR/GBP and then convert that USD/EUR/GBP to Pakistan currency.

I don't think there are any options on that, same here in Bangladesh.

Well, you can always swim up the river and collect INR ;D
Options will be there, it will take time. If there is enough demand infrastructure will pop up.

Hey

Hope you are doing well.

Just got to see your post.

Yes its possible to send money through bitcoin to Pakistan.

I offer the service to deposit in any bank account or cash delivery as well. Our website is ready. Its being tested.
We will be offering buy and sell as well as remittance option.

If you are still interested let me know the details and we can do the transfer.

Regards

Duke

I just read up on the previous conversation.

There is a massive potential for growth in Pakistan.

Majority of its population is unbanked and the value of pkr is practically nothing.

There are already a few people operating in Pakistan dealing with bitcoin but they deal with all web currencies.

Found in google https://urdubit.com. Pakistan's First Bitcoin Exchange.  I can't say how much this exchange is reliable. I did not use it.

Urdubit has already been mentioned few times in this thread and the OP had got in contact with them, but wasn't happy with the fees.

It's a good practice to scan through the thread before posting.

I think people forget that just USING Bitcoin, even it it's just for saving money on a wire transfer, can benefit Bitcoin because it shows people that Bitcoin can be used for easy and (most importantly for a lot of people) cheap transactions. Take the first step so Bitcoin can gain a foothold in Pakistan, then worry about using it as a currency later. I think people already mentioned a couple of exchanges that might work.

There's more to that. There are a few remittance companies started recently (who use bitcoin as transfer tool), if they manage to grab a significant portion of the market - the volume of trade should noticeably increase, which will reduce the volatility and make price manipulation much harder. That's a big thing.

You're right; Coins.ph is one company that added this option fairly recently if you go by this article: http://thecoinfront.com/coins-ph-adds-bitcoin-remittance/ But is there any remittance option that would work for Pakistan?

Hello,

We have already created a service like that.
The service is setup and operational. We are in the process of fine tuning the website.
We will hopefully launch within this week.
Our goal is to take somewhat the same approach as other companies have and focus on remittance for Pakistan.

Glad there are others taking an interest in it as well.

Regards

Duke

That's good, but I wouldn't use a service that "just opened".

But keep yours going and in a year I'd check it out if it had good reviews and was still in business

I did get intouch with you and I think you were having problems fees as trades priced high. What you have to realize is that we are an exchange( and very new) not a remittance service. You can post your bids and when the time is right they will automatically trade. At the time of writing this post. Please take note the BID rate is 31900+ for buying per btc(So this applies to you since you want to sell), the current international rate is around USD 317(interbank rate = 100.1 = 31731.7 so even if you minus the fee it will pretty much negate the fees)

If you do have any questions feel free to email us anytime.

I think you can use this exhange http://bitcoinpk.com/
I remember this before some time

http://www.bitcoin-gr.org/?p=812

Yes then they can exchange to fiat with localbitcoins.

Yeah, your exchange looks good, but the fees make it not worth it for high value remittances. I guess what's needed is a remittance service that is made for remittances, and has low fees accordingly.

You are right. Like I said we are new and only penetrating the market. Eventually it should even out. But right now if you have a large amount of bitcoins its difficult for us to take in.

get in touch with me on skype. I am sure we can find a solution

danyal.urdubit is my skype id
danyal@urdubit.com

Also at the moment we have a shortage of bitcoin in Pakistan
So if we can figure out a way for people to send us bitcoin for PKR that would be great.

Im always open for a new solution but the OP has not been answering so i guess this offer/option is now deceased.

Good luck

Duke

You should be able to if they can access the internet.

Sorry i meant to buy in Pakistan.

We have a few miners but quantity is very less.

I dont know if you can buy directly with pakistan money but I guess it shouldnt be too hard to exchange your money for USD then buy BTC with that USD.

Hello

Its not hard.

Its just very expensive to do that.
Too much premium on buying usd and then transfer is even more expensive.

Is there any chance to buy BTC via vouchers in Pakistan? Something like this: https://bit4coin.net/blog/Five-reasons-to-buy-bitcoins-via-vouchers.html

No nothing as of yet but this will be a very good thing for pakistan.

bitcoin broken down into PKR currency or even USD but that means that people would have to know the USD to PKR rate to pay the shop keepers as that rate  itself is very volatile.

If you want to buy coins in Pakistan use western union or XpressMoney, or any of the Russian wire transfer companies like Anelik if nobody is on LocalBitcoins.
 
If you want to buy coins from Pakistanis and fund their bank accounts you can using flash remit: http://www.uaeexchange.com/stay-connected-to-know-more/flashremit-facility-to-pakistan if you live near a UAExchange branch or the hundreds of other remmitance services to Pakistan.

i dont get the point of your post ?

What is this reffering to.

Whose banks would you want to remit to ?

:S

Yeh that does look good.

Yeah I guess thats how I would do it.! or just find a dealer in the specific country..from local BTC n just give him the bank details to send the cash while I send him the BTC.

This topic has been dead for ages guys.

Please check OP

Thanks

Duke