ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for IT Syed Amin Ul Haque said on Thursday the country’s finance ministry had “agreed” to his proposal to release blocked payments to international companies like Google, averting a threat of the possible closure of services.
In September 2022, the country’s central bank had suspended a direct carrier billing (DCB) mechanism after which a $34 million payment through mobile companies to international service providers — including Google, Amazon, and Meta — was stuck.
DCB is an online mobile payment method that allows users to make purchases by charging payments to their mobile phone carrier bill. Telecommunications companies in Pakistan allow customers to purchase products through airtime and then remit funds abroad, reflecting such transactions as payments for the acquisition of IT-related services.
The suspension of the DCB mechanism gave rise to fears Pakistanis would now be required to use their bank cards to purchase services. This was a major concern in a country where 100 million people are unbanked.
“The State Bank of Pakistan had been directed to delay the implementation of the Direct Carrier Billing (#DCB) policy for one month,” Haque said.
“Telecom operators had been given a one-month time to implement payment procedures and within a month, the ministry of IT, finance, and the State Bank would formulate a plan of action in mutual consultation in that regard”.
The finance ministry and state bank have not yet commented on the development.
Haque said he took notice of the situation after receiving complaints from stakeholders, including the Telecom ministry, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and cellular service operators. Following that, he wrote a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and requested his ministry to resume the payment so that paid Google apps would not be suspended in Pakistan.
The IT minister thanked Dar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa for making a “timely decision on the issue.”