The problem with paying $34 million to Google in relation to payments made using direct carrier billing (DCB) has been “addressed,” and the government will devise a new payment system to address the problem.
This was revealed on Monday at the Parliament House during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication. Senator Kauda Babar served as the meeting’s moderator.
Officials from the Ministry of IT informed the committee at the meeting that a new payment system for Google, the world’s largest app manager, will be developed in conjunction with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The committee was informed that there were challenges in releasing $34 million to Google against DCB payments and that app payments had been switched to debit and credit cards.
However, it led to a response from telecom firms, and later Google.
The Federal IT Ministry then became aware of the situation and brought it up with the Finance Ministry.
The payment was paid after receiving the go-ahead from Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
The State Bank of Pakistan and the IT ministry will now collaborate to develop a new payment system within a month, as agreed upon.
Concerns regarding the government’s failure to open letters of credit (LCs) for the telecom industry were also raised during the conference, which is preventing the sector from importing essential equipment for the upgrade of infrastructure.
Officials from the IT ministry said that chip manufacture would soon begin in Pakistan. Two manufacturers of infrastructure have received permits.
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