Dr. Umar Saif, caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, said on Wednesday that the country will hear “good news” about PayPal and Stripe payment gateways in Pakistan in the coming weeks.
PayPal and Stripe To Be Launched Soon in Pakistan
Moreover, Dr. Saif, speaking alongside Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, stated that no financial instrument is available to facilitate payments for the country’s burgeoning freelancing community.
“These companies have their apprehensions, including the FATF issue. Despite this, we are seeing progress. I am optimistic that we will hear good news regarding PayPal, and Stripe in the coming four to six weeks, and through any formula, we will provide these services to our freelancer community,” he said.
Pakistan Is The Second-Largest Online Workforce
Dr. Umar Saif said, “1.5 million Pakistanis are working as IT freelancers. We are the second-largest online workforce.”
“However, the lack of infrastructure is holding us back. Through the E-Rozgar program, interest-free loans will be provided to the private sector, under which co-working space for 500,000 people will be established,” shared the minister.
According to the interim minister, the country’s IT sector is made up of approximately 19,000 companies that employ 150,000 people and export $2.5 billion in official exports.
Forex Revenue
According to Dr. Umar Saif, a number of IT companies keep their forex reserves and revenues outside the country due to restrictions on US dollar repatriation.
“As per a conservative estimate, Pakistan’s IT exports stand at $4-4.5 billion, however, this is not the case due to restrictions on US-dollar spending,” he said.
“Through the efforts of the IT ministry and P@SHA, the authorities have now been allowed to retain 50% of their revenue in US dollar account.
However, these companies will be provided corporate debit cards by the banks, which can be freely used to make international payments,” he said.
Retention Rate Increased For Freelancers
Moreover, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently increased the permissible retention limit of IT exporters in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs) from 35% to 50% in order to assist IT exporters in increasing exports of IT and IT-enabled services.
To read our blog on “SBP raised retention rate to 50% for freelancers having FCA,” click here.
