SBP Refutes Holding Payment to Google – Will Google Play Store Apps be Available After Dec 1?

Some reports were circulating on the internet claiming that Google Play Store services will no longer be available to Pakistani users after December 1 as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had suspended the direct carrier billing (DCB) mechanism. However, the SBP refuted the claim of holding payment to Google by saying that these reports are baseless and misleading.

SBP Refutes Holding Payment to Google – Will Google Play Store Apps be Available After Dec 1?

The Telecom Ministry, PTA and cellular service operators have approached the SBP to seek revocation of the step, since the move will cause issues for customers.

“It is pertinent to mention here that we all understand the prevailing challenge of worsening economic conditions of the country and thus are open to working in an amicable way with the Regulator (SBP); as we are already working with them in case of the telecom sector imports related transactions to navigate through these testing times,” said the letter sent by the telcos to the SBP.

In a letter, SBP refuted all such reports saying “Recent news circulating in some sections of the media that certain payments to Google are stuck at State Bank of Pakistan, are baseless and misleading,”

The statement said that in order to facilitate the domestic entities, SBP specified certain Information Technology (IT) related services, which such entities can acquire from abroad for their own use and make foreign exchange payments there against up to USD 100,000 per invoice.

It said that the Telcos were allowing their customers to purchase above mentioned products through airtime and then remitting funds abroad reflecting such transactions as payments for the acquisition of IT-related services.

“Thus, in effect, the Telcos were acting as intermediaries/ payment aggregators by facilitating the acquisition of services by their subscribers. Therefore, in view of the violation of foreign exchange regulations, SBP revoked the designation of banks of Telcos for such payments,” it added.

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