Best Place to Exchange Money in Karachi

Where to change money in Karachi

Most visitors turn sterling into rupees at an exchange company licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan. Rates vary between counters, so compare the buying rate for pounds at two or three, count the rupees before you walk away and ask for a receipt. Banks may change money too, though we found no published rule for walk-in visitors. Avoid street dealers. In November 2022 the State Bank and the Federal Investigation Agency agreed to go after illegal operators, whom the exchange companies' association put at about 30,000 nationwide, luring customers with Rs10 to Rs15 extra per dollar. No single business passed our two-source test, so none is named; look for a licence on display.

Changing money at the airport

Jinnah International Airport (KHI) is Karachi's main gateway. We found no airport or bank page listing its exchange counters or cash machines, so change only enough for the first journey and do the rest in town.

Every passenger on an international flight, arriving or leaving, completes a customs declaration. Under a Civil Aviation Authority notice of August 2022, airlines issue a departing passenger's boarding pass only after the form is handed in, and when leaving you can file it online before the flight or on paper at the airport. The currency amounts are under Good to know.

ATMs and cards in Karachi

Drawing rupees from a bank cash machine is the easiest option with a UK card. United Bank (UBL) and HBL both list a separate charge for foreign-issued cards in their schedules for July to December 2026, but the published tables do not show clearly how much it is. Read the fee on the screen before you confirm, and remember your own bank may add foreign-use charges. We found no published per-withdrawal limit for foreign cards.

The Express Tribune counted 125,593 card terminals across Pakistan in October 2024, and Sindh lowered the sales tax on restaurant bills paid by card to 8%, against 15% otherwise. Larger hotels, malls and chain restaurants usually take cards, while markets, small shops and rickshaws want cash. The FCDO warns that credit card fraud is common, so keep your card in sight. If a terminal asks which currency to use, choose rupees.

Paying for transport in Karachi

Because of crime, the FCDO tells visitors to avoid public transport, street taxis and taxi apps, and to book with a reputable licensed firm by phone, which then sends the driver. Agree the fare first and have small rupee notes ready.

Many residents use ride apps. Careem ended its ride-hailing in Pakistan on 18 July 2025; Yango and inDrive still run, and Dawn reported in May 2026 that Yango fares in Karachi had risen by up to 20% after fuel price increases.

The Peoples Bus Service, the red buses, has charged a minimum of Rs80, or Rs120 beyond 15 km, since 1 February 2025, and Dawn said on 7 October 2026 that its fares and those of the Green and Orange BRT lines had not gone up. Green Line riders can top up a passenger card with a debit or credit card at any station; Dawn put the top fare at Rs55 in March 2025.

Good to know

• Taking foreign currency out: State Bank limits set on 8 November 2022, and written into the customs Baggage Rules that December, allow an adult USD 5,000 or its equivalent per visit and USD 30,000 a year (half for under-18s). Declare more than USD 5,000 when you leave and more than USD 10,000 when you arrive.
• We found no current official limit on carrying rupees across the border, so spend or change back what is left before you fly.
• Tipping: restaurant owners interviewed by Dawn's Images magazine treat 10% of the bill as the minimum.
• The FCDO's advice, updated 22 September 2026, does not include Karachi in the northern part of Sindh where it says only essential journeys should be made, but it reports a recent rise in armed robbery in the city and warns that protests can start with little notice.