Google momentarily stopped allowing Pakistani consumers to buy carrier-paid apps despite Syed Aminul Haque, the federal minister for IT and telecom, giving assurances in this regard on numerous occasions.
Due to unpaid debts following the State Bank of Pakistan’s closure of the direct payment system, Google has temporarily banned carrier-paid app purchases in Pakistan.
The Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom confirmed the development (MoITT).
The Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) has been suspended by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a claim which SBP strongly refused. However, it is important to note that this only affects local transit at this time. Google continues to take credit card payments for paid apps in the meanwhile.
Amin-ul-Haque added that the telecom providers had been given a month to adopt payment procedures and that, within that month, the Ministries of IT, Finance, and State Bank will develop a strategy after consulting with one another.
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The Ministry of Finance approved a scheme put forth by Syed Aminul Haque for paying for Google App services. The minister at the time claimed that SBP had been told to delay the execution of the DCB mechanism policy by one month.
It should be recalled that the SBP last week stopped paying $34 million to companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta, which led to the suspension of carrier-paid app services in Pakistan.
CEO Jazz tweeted, “Relieved to see the DCB issue advancing towards a resolution. Thank you, Tariq Bajwa and Ishaq Dar, for your support.” Jazz CEO also praised the work of IT Minister Syed Amin-ul-Haque. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa deserve praise for ensuring that Google Play apps continue to be accessible to Pakistani citizens. To strengthen the digital ecosystem, a whole-of-government approach is required.
