PayPal to enter Pakistani market through strategic partnership, announces IT Minister

PayPal, an online payment system, is set to partner with an existing international payment gateway, through which international customers of Pakistani freelancers will be able to make payments through their PayPal accounts.

The joint venture announcement is expected next week.

Caretaker Minister for IT and Telecom, Dr Umar Saif, stated that PayPal will operate indirectly in Pakistan through this collaboration. He said that the initiative will have a positive impact on the growing freelance sector, which comprises approximately 1.5 million individuals, making it the fourth-largest globally.

The move follows persistent efforts by previous governments to bring PayPal to Pakistan, overcoming security concerns. Saif emphasized the potential boost to IT exports and freelancer remittances, attributing the positive trend to recent measures supporting a liberal financial regime.

Inflows from IT exports have already seen a 13% increase in November, and the government aims to further enhance IT exports from $2.6 billion to approximately $5 billion.

As part of this effort, IT companies can now retain 50% of their export revenue in dollars in a local account, simplifying international payments. 

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