Play Store is shutting down in Pakistan

According to reports, Play store is shutting down in Pakistan. Mobile users in Pakistan would be unable to get Google Play Store services beginning December 1, 2022, after the State Bank of Pakistan cancelled a $34 million payment to overseas service providers.

Payment to overseas service providers such as Google, Amazon, and Meta has been delayed due to the central bank’s suspension of the direct carrier billing (DCB) process.

Annually, mobile carriers pay $34 million to service providers but are unable to do so owing to the central bank’s decision to stop DCB.

Customers may now download Google and other overseas applications to make payments using credit or debit cards exclusively.

However, because the credit card facility is limited to a set number of customers, the majority of mobile users may be unable to download programs from the Google Play Store.

On Friday, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and four cellular mobile operators (CMOs) unanimously wrote a joint letter to the SBP, requesting that it reverse its decision to revoke the DCB mechanism for payment of Dollar fee, citing the country’s liquidity crisis.

Payments by other ways, such as vouchers or cash, are not feasible because these applications do not have a real presence in Pakistan. Users can pay using Mastercard, Visa, or DCB credit/debit cards. Because not all mobile phone users have credit or debit cards, DCB is a valuable service for such clients.