Pakistan

Govt to invite Amazon, eBay, PayPal to start operations in Pakistan

Minister of IT and Telecommunication says SBP is working with partners to open up an e-payment gateway in Pakistan

Web Desk November 25, 2015

Pakistan is going to invite global tech companies including Amazon, eBay and PayPal to start their operations in Pakistan, Minister of IT and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman said at a conference on Tuesday.

The minister said that Pakistan is now listed in anti-money laundering body Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) white-list. This means that Pakistan has agreed to FATF’s anti-money laundering and counter-terror financial standards. Pakistan was previously listed FATF’s grey-list, which discouraged technology companies from coming to Pakistan.

E-transactions: IT ministry reviews e-payment gateway

Rehman also informed that State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was working with partners to open up an e-payment gateway in Pakistan.

“The IT ministry will continue supporting and facilitating e-commerce and e-payment gateway in Pakistan,” Rahman had said on Monday while chairing a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for establishing the e-payment gateway in Pakistan. “For successful establishment of an e-commerce gateway, a comprehensive e-commerce policy, comprising guidelines, rules and regulations along with dispute resolution and remedial mechanism for consumers, is a must.”

Focus: Need to market IT industry: Rahman

Ministry of Commerce is leading the work on the regulatory framework for the e-commerce industry, while Minister of State for Information Technology and State Bank of Pakistan were assisting in the formulation of protocols, Rehman said, adding that this framework will be formulated over the next few weeks.

This story originally appeared on technology website ProPakistani.

COMMENTS (44)

Nuzzo | 8 years ago | Reply Not entirely sure it will happen, but it is always good to hope it does. I still sell on the platforms using a USA account made by Auction Essistance, but I would much rather have the services here locally in Pakistan.

hi | 8 years ago | Reply thanks for post the wonderful...

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Bilal Omar | 9 years ago | Reply KEEP CALM & BRING IT ON :)

nomi | 9 years ago | Reply i think this is very good effort from Pk Govt. pmln we are waiting paypal in pakistan

zubair | 9 years ago | Reply It is much better to create local companies that do the same thing as Amazon, ebay and payPal. There is nothing extra ordinary in Amazon ebay paypal that talented local developers cannot develop and launch such companies and create local brands instead of making foreigners even more filthy rich. Government IT department have no idea how these companies came into existence and how to replicate similar success stories locally.

Meera | 9 years ago | Reply Youtube is ban because they didn't offer good commission. May be these new companies are offering good enough, to our % mafia government.

Shahid Khan | 9 years ago | Reply If the government be able to bring amazon ebay and paypal to Pakistan we will be able to work in an entire new environment on line. I request ministry of IT and the honourable minister to request e-commerce portals to Pakistan. Ease the process cut the red tape and in order to gain international confidence PLEASE OPEN YOU TUBE at once.

Lionheart101 | 9 years ago | Reply @John M: No.They are not. And that is precisely the reason all these companies are operating in India for years. And more are joining in. Tea or coffee?

Labeeb Xaman | 9 years ago | Reply That's a great news, as long as the government doesn't get offended at certain things & ban them. Finally I can buy books and stuff that were almost impossible to find at Pak.

Jaffer_Zaidi | 9 years ago | Reply Very nice effort by PML-N please take a look at Youtube matter unblock it officially plz

Syed | 9 years ago | Reply Guys, This is a very fantastic effort from Pak govt. to set up the e-commerce gateway and policies in place. This should have been done 10 years ago. Btw, shopping online is just one view of the story, the real game is for Pakistani companies to go out on their own and sell their services to the World. Also, it is needed to facilitate intra country trade on e-commerce. Right now it is all payment at delivery which is full of dangers. This is why we have very less e commerce sites for national use. Please get this done before elections. It has far reaching positive affects Pakistan economy and to the common person.

John M | 9 years ago | Reply @curious2: Pakistan's basics are just as 'fixed' as India's - so if these companies can operate in India, they should have no issues operating in Pakistan.

Khan | 9 years ago | Reply At last! But surely their fee will be more compared to India so they can fill NS and Ishaq Dar's pockets!

Mariamante | 9 years ago | Reply @Uzair: haha, So you can spend your money, but you can't talk about it. We are all victims of sock puppet regimes beholden to something other than the people. They are afraid that we get together and realize the real enemies are our own treasonous governments, not other people or cultures. Most people have realized that everything is a farce anyway. They are doing everything possible to galvanize people against each other.The only truth is God.

Zahid | 9 years ago | Reply Welcome to e payment in Pakistan

Hyderabadi | 9 years ago | Reply Why not encourage some local company? These giants will not allow to grow anybody else in their shadow. Look at success stories of local firms like Alibaba in china and Flipkart in India. They have not come yet. This is time to grow dear.

curious2 | 9 years ago | Reply Those companies thrive in countries which have dependable banking, judicial, and product delivery systems. It allows those companies to mitigate the risk they take in the guarantees they provide buyer/seller - it's likely that Pakistan will receive a gracious "thank you" but not much else till the basics get fixed.

Ammad | 9 years ago | Reply Paypal is Most Important Service For Pakistan,

waqas | 9 years ago | Reply Really a good move from this government.It will open a new era in the regime of online shopping as online shopping posseses a great potential.

charles | 9 years ago | Reply Does anyone think those companies aren't doing business in Pakistan because they didn't get an official "invite"? Does anyone think that an "official invite" means that Pakistan has fixed it's xenophobia or banking and judicial systems?

Rajesh | 9 years ago | Reply There's no Amazon or Ebay or PayPal in Pakistan???

Mohammad | 9 years ago | Reply @Uzair: Multinationals are hungry to find new markets.. write it down that Asia specially the subcontinent is the Next Big Thing.. You are just a killjoy type guy with extreme negative thinking.

Fawad | 9 years ago | Reply Learning from India, good we should be competitive in this direction.

Saad | 9 years ago | Reply Govt has to invite these companies?? Create a climate conducive to businesses and they need no invitation. Security situation is the main threat. How long can army remain in the cities?

Bewildered | 9 years ago | Reply @JS: @Uzair: "How about unblocking you tube first?" FYI youtube.com has already been unblocked. A week ago, by chance I clicked on a youtube link, and Loo & behold, I was able to watch the video clip. Later on I accessed the website and watched a couple of more clips just to make sure its working status. Even today, before posting this comment, I was able to open the website. Just in case you are curious to know, I have a PTCL DSL connection.

Imran | 9 years ago | Reply @RT: How come??? Foreign currency resererves will increase.. Bcoz of freelancer

Arshad | 9 years ago | Reply It should first unblock YouTube, a basic facility before tall talking.

FactCheck | 9 years ago | Reply @Jibran: Very good question. These companies go where they can make money and are not waiting for a government invitation. Suppose, this another mislead the public activity as usual.

Walsh | 9 years ago | Reply Pakistan is part of the "next eleven" economies and am sure these companies will be interested in Pakistan IA, finally we are heading towards the right direction

jax | 9 years ago | Reply If they pull it off, they will have my vote.

Akbar | 9 years ago | Reply Where's PayPal, Amazon & eBay in the story?

Asif | 9 years ago | Reply @Atif Hasham It looks like God first needs to help you. If YouTube can be banned for blasphemy, other companies can be accused of blasphemy too. There may be blasphemous products books sold on Amazon or EBay for example.

RT | 9 years ago | Reply This companies will have a minuscule presence even if they set up any operations in Pakistan. But one thing is for sure, foreign exchange will drain if more people start using their websites.

Atif Hashaam | 9 years ago | Reply I am sure Paypal will be an instant hit. Well.. GOD help this country, what is the relationship between "BAN on YOUTUBE" and PAYPAL?

Basit | 9 years ago | Reply Nice, but dont you think you should unblock youtube first? I dont think its going to happen since our ministry is so sensitive when it comes to IT that instead of blocking some specific youtube link they blocked the whole site. You need to grow your brain first before growing Pakistan's e-comm business

Rumormonger | 9 years ago | Reply Amazing that our IT minister knows about these entities. Maybe its her children who are demanding this. That is why the idea is being considered. Or maybe Blue Bird wants to do online business via PayPal?

Raisani | 9 years ago | Reply Government is just joking with Nation.

A-No.1 | 9 years ago | Reply With lack of accountability these companies will be swamped with crooked deals.

Wake Up | 9 years ago | Reply @Uzair These companies, like most companies, are more than happy to increase their revenues --- so it's a win-win. It's not like we're begging them to do something that they inherently don't want to.

Jibran | 9 years ago | Reply Anusha Rehman is an naive as her Master. Inviting is one thing, but the point to ponder is why these companies have so far not shown any desire to do business in Pakistan.

JS | 9 years ago | Reply How about unblocking you tube first?

Beenish | 9 years ago | Reply Good job ... Very nice effort !

PakPower | 9 years ago | Reply Great news. PayPal is of utmost importance. If PayPal come in, we can shop at eBay as well. Amazon already ships selectively to Pakistan.

Uzair | 9 years ago | Reply A country which bans facebook and youtube at the drop of a hat is not very conducive to ecommerce operations by big multinationals. We need to get over our hangups on the right to free speech and stop making fools of ourselves in front of the world before we make such proposals.

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