Growing digital trade

The recent decision of the National eCommerce Council (NeCC) to develop a five-year roadmap and action plan to promote digital trade marks a significant step towards harnessing the potential of e-commerce in Pakistan. The recent council meeting, chaired by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, saw discussions among stakeholders on various areas, including the major impediments to promoting e-commerce growth.

The decision to present the new cross-sectoral policy before the budget session demonstrates a sense of urgency and commitment to driving e-commerce forward. The focus on leveraging technology to enhance market access and competitiveness, as well as the emphasis on the need for a robust and secure payment infrastructure to support e-commerce growth, reflects a holistic approach to addressing key areas of concern.

One area that still needs more attention is payment platforms. Pakistani e-commerce has suffered for several years due to the unavailability of several common payment providers or payment methods, most notably PayPal, which is still only accessible via third parties. While there have been hopes that these hurdles would be cleared as the country comes further into compliance with FATF rules, many companies still see Pakistan as an unnecessarily high-risk area with regard to money laundering and terror financing. This could finally be resolved if the government is serious. Despite exiting the FATF grey list over 18 months ago, the perception of Pakistan among international investors is still worse than several countries that are currently on the list — Vietnam, South Africa, Croatia and Turkiye, for example.

However, given that the budget announcement is just days away, it is unlikely that the NeCC working groups will produce groundbreaking solutions. Still, Pakistan has made several advances since the approval of the National eCommerce Policy in October 2019, which brings confidence that a comprehensive five-year plan will bear fruit.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2024.

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