Karachi: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is likely to extend the deadline for prize bond encashment, conversion, and redemption, news sources reported. With the extension in deadline, citizens will be able to swap prize bonds in denominations of PKR 40,000, PKR 25,000, PKR 15,000, and PKR 7,500 until December 31, 2021.
The extension in the deadline is being mulled at the request of overseas Pakistanis who were unable to return to swap bonds owing to COVID-19-imposed travel restrictions. The administration had previously designated September 30 as the deadline for such exchange and encashment.
The bonds can be exchanged for savings certificates or premium prize bonds, or they can be cashed in at the actual value of the bond. The central has designated various branches, including 16 of its own Banking Services Corporations field offices, and the branches of six licenced commercial banks.
In April 2017, the government introduced premium prize bonds that can only be issued against computerised national identity cards and bondholders’ bank accounts. This will be the third time the government will extend the deadline. The first deadline was set for March 2020, the second is set to expire on September 30.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
