The Taliban’s nationwide internet blackout has crippled Afghanistan’s banking system, blocking remittances and money transfers and leaving many citizens without access to funds, according to residents and aid groups.
Afghans abroad said they have been unable to send money to their families since the shutdown began on Sept. 29. “We can no longer hear our mother’s voice, check on our father, brother and sisters, or even send them money,” said Waheda Hakimi, an Afghan living in Spain. “This is not just cutting the internet — it is cutting the lifeline of the people.”
Patients seeking treatment abroad have also been caught in the crisis. In Pakistan, Afghans said hospital admissions and surgeries were delayed because families in Afghanistan could not wire payments. “The doctor said the operation must be done urgently, but without the advance payment the hospital would not admit the patient,” one Afghan man in Pakistan told Amu.
A source in a private bank said that before the shutdown, a single bank processed up to $50,000 a day in remittances. In addition to banks, many Afghans relied on informal money transfer services through currency exchanges, which have also collapsed.
Economic analysts warned that the outage is fueling social unrest and undermining trust in banks. “Cutting communications and internet services has paralyzed banking operations,” said economist Sair Quraishi. “It will leave people without liquidity, disrupt supply chains and transactions, and stop remittances.”
The United Nations said the blackout has delivered a severe blow to Afghanistan’s vital banking and remittance systems. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the ban has “immediate and far-reaching consequences, including serious harm to banking and financial systems, further isolating women and girls, restricting access to emergency medical care, disrupting aviation, and limiting remittances for dependent families.”
Afghanistan currently has three state-owned banks, seven private banks and two foreign bank branches providing services. The UN estimates that 22.9 million Afghans — more than half the population — are in need of humanitarian assistance.
