ISLAMABAD – State Bank of Pakistan has rejected reports claiming thatcertain payments to Google were stuck at the central bank, calling it‘baseless and misleading’.
In a statement issued, the central bank trashed the assertions thatpayments were stuck at its end after media reports sound alarm over theblocking of payment to tech giant Google.
Local media reports on Saturday suggest that Google Play Store serviceswill no longer be available in Pakistan from start of December 2022,claiming that State Bank suspended the direct carrier billing (DCB)mechanism.
After media reports, SBP issued a clarification statement, saying “The factis that in order to facilitate the domestic entities, the SBP specifiedcertain Information Technology (IT) related services, which such entitiescan acquire from abroad for their own use and make foreign exchangepayments there against up to USD 100,000 per invoice. Such servicesinclude, Satellite Transponder, International Bandwidth/ Internet/ PrivateLine Services, Software License/ Maintenance/ Support, and service to useelectronic media and databases.”
Read Top Stories
It further maintained that such services include Satellite Transponder,International Bandwidth/ Internet/ Private Line Services, SoftwareLicense/Maintenance/Support, and service to use electronic media anddatabases. Entities desirous of utilizing this option designate a bank,which is approved by SBP one time. Subsequently, after designation, suchpayments can be processed through the designated bank, without any furtherregulatory approval.
SBP however mentioned that it was observed during recent off-site reviewsthat Telcom were remitting bulk of the funds for video gaming,entertainment content, etc. purchased by their custmers using airtime,under Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) to utilise the aforesaid mechanism toremit funds for IT-related services for their own use.
