Pakistan has finally made all prerequisite regulatory arrangements needed for global tech companies to start their operations in Pakistan, said Anusha Rehman, Minister for State for IT and Telecom, here at a conference organized by GSMA in Islamabad.
Anusha said that Pakistan is now ranked in FATF’s white-list, meaning that Pakistan has now internationally accepted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in place which were previously not available.
Pakistan, until recently was listed in grey-list of FATF (Financial Action Task Force), which potentially blocked the way of global tech companies, such as PayPal, Amazon etc. in starting their operations in Pakistan.
Pakistan is now ranked in FATF’s white-list, meaning that Pakistan has now internationally accepted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in place
Anusha further revealed that State Bank of Pakistan is already working with partners for the opening up of payment gateway in Pakistan, after which Government is now working on framework for ecommerce to address consumers rights, dispute resolutions and all sorts of procedural and mechanical challenges of eommerce industry.
Minister said that the working on regulatory framework for ecommerce industry is lead by Ministry of Commerce, while Ministry of IT and State Bank of Pakistan are assisting in the formulation of protocols for ecommerce industry.
Ms. Rehman said that this framework will be formulated with-in next few weeks after which all current issues and challenges of ecommerce industry will be addressed.
She said that soon Pakistan is going to invite global tech companies including PayPal, Amazon and eBay to start their operations in Pakistan.
Ministry of Commerce, assisted by MoIT and SBP, is formulating the framework for ecommerce industry
Ms. Rehman said that her ministry is making all possible efforts, positive measures and incremental steps in every direction to make sure that ICT is used at fullest to contribute towards economic growth of the country and to enhance common man’s lifestyle.
She said that direction has been set, however, a lot is still to be done and all stakeholders should work together in achieving the goal.
She said that we have to become a strategic enabler to become an ecosystem that would spur the economic growth to ultimately make us an knowledge based economy.
Also Read: Pakistani Ecommerce Industry has One Key Flaw That we Must Fix Right Away!
Amazon and Ebay will be useless without standardized and fast system in-place @ customs
There’ll be no customs needed if Amazon starts operations in PK (that’s a big if but one can hope). Just like there are no customs needed for Amazon IN, UK and US. Taxes will still apply but Amazon will still blow the current local competition out of the water. Ebay is just a marketplace similar to OLX so it’ll be local too.
Unlike OLX, Ebay along with Paypal has buyer protection policy, purchasing experience would be way more safer then OLX and others.
Olx is just classified ads website ebay and Amazon are markets where you can buy and sell online amazon also operates large warehouses in countries where they sell there own stuff along with people who sell on their website ebay don’t sell things them self but they provide safety and payment processing for buyers and sellers
Customs and shipping is the most important hurdle with ebay.
“Ebay is just a marketplace similar to OLX so it’ll be local too.” hahah wtf
Ebay is an international marketplace. If i buy from someone who resides in US .. how exactly do we meet locally. They will ship it to us. WIth our crap customs and post services .. its a major hurdle.
Do you know what the term “local operations” means, dumb***? Some Ebay US sellers already can and will ship to Pakistan. Ebay local operations would mean something similar to ebay.in where the sellers are local too. Next time, read before you try to sound intelligent.
There is custom duty to be paid if you buy item from outside UK or US. I bought phone from china on ebay and had to pay
£40
Yes, of course you pay customs duty. The main issue is customs withholding your item and never mailing to inform you. You are left to search for the location of the item and begin a tedious process to get it released if customs can locate it.
No sir. They will be only less useful (but not entirely useless) because they cant stock stuff in PK due to exorbitant insurance costs. And if they hire local desi stuff to run their operations, i bet my cents on their failure. Our people have a tendency to be dishonest, sketchy, liar, and cunning. Currently, so many online stores have foreign funding, and their hallmark is deceit – not honesty. Investors, fail to fathom our mindset and put money where it does not belong.
those are some wise words. :) totally agree with you brother.
bitter but true :(
You have no idea how multinationals work do you? If they hire the right people for the job, there’s no reason why it can’t be done.
Well, i suppose he has a point. Ebay is anything but a professional platform nowadays. It provides ridiculously good buyer protection and hence absolutely shit seller protection. It has resigned itself from finding a proper solution to discourage item not received fraud etc. Ebay itself wont do anything against Pakistan if there is a high degree of scams here but the markets are very adaptable. Most sellers catch on and will refuse shipment to Pakistan.
Also i dont know why everyone thinks ebay needs an invitation to come here :p
We can already use ebay. I do. The only issue is paying for the services via paypal which is not available here.
This is the biggest lie of 2015…well done Anusha !
I so hope you’re wrong but my gut says otherwise.
Ebay has nothing special as we have already olx here and Amazon is something big but unfortunately taxes will remain same and custom officers will find a way to tax them as well as I remember I have to pay a handsome amount of tax on a supplement import from USA. And finally paypal you can’t simply announce paypal’s introduction like this because it’s something huge considering the outcome.
if the amazon started their operation here in pakistan the custom and import duties will decreased dramatically ,, because they will open the warehouse in pakistan also
Items will come after paying customs in there warehouse *facepalm*
that would minimum, i bought logitech performance mx mouse from amazon via tcs just to check their services, and they took 3500 import charges and the price of the mosue on the amazon is $54 ,,
i contact the amazon and ask about the import charges they replied that if the item is already in your country thats mean customs and import duties has been paid , they will not charge you more !!
Amm duh? When things will come to Amazon’s warehouse here. They will pay import charges and customs. So they will not reduce.
… ebay has 100x the quantity and variety of stuff that local market can provide. Its a whole international market.
I seriously doubt it, YouTube ka ban khula nahi ab tak aur PayPal aaega yahan :s
If this really happens then I am sure they will find ways to add taxes on PayPal withdrawals.
they cant add taxes to paypal , because all the transaction will be handled their online system , however they force banks to appose some transactions charges whenever a paypal account holder trnasfer their money from paypal to thier bank accounts ..
Yes sir obviously they can’t add it directly to PayPal, magar koi na koi tax lag hi jaega, like you said force bank to charge X amount or X % on each transaction.
Lets hope for the best , atleast koi umeed toh nazar aai :)
Yeah Hope For The Best. Ishaq Dollar ko Umeed he Umeed Nazar aarhi hai :P
Hahahah.. yes he will be the biggest beneficiary of that…If that happens.
So happy to hear about Paypal, amazon.pk and ebay, it would be lovely if it happens soon
Yeah, I hate to be that guy but don’t hold your breath.
i am waiting the day when these outlets start operation in Pakistan, then Mr. Dollar will impose taxes on them just like it did with celcos
So you can ban them to like YouTube? Backward govt
The word soooooooooooon ………….!
Raise your own dammit, Raise your own. Getting some big names in to Pakistan would just have a similar effect to that of a mayor building bridges without a need. You need to help your own scale globally, not bring giants to suck the blood out of you..
You sir, have no idea what you are talking about.
Then give me an idea about it. How is Amazon different to HSN? or Magiclamp? The only reason you could be saying this is to get ‘Ships to Pakistan’. That doesn’t solve problems as the freight would render it useless. Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc are doing great in India.
Sir ek cheez hoti hai PayPal uske bare main kia khayalat hain aapke?
Yaani, ager PayPal hi chaiye, ager koi local ajaye to aapki zindagi mein pur sukoon khiyaal nahi ayega? Meri baat ka mudda samjhein aap..or woh yeh hay k local banao, har cheez bahyr se na mangwaoo khaas tor per udher jaha aap k paas abhi talent ka access mawjood ho.
Monami.net ka naam suna hay? http://inov8.com.pk/news/inov8-and-monami-bring-internet-payments-to-pakistan-an-industry-gamechanger/
At the least, it will bring other ecommerce stores to up their standard.
You can build up standards, they can obviously help them. Look at
China, etc. This isn’t automotive industry…even there even developed
countries use UN’s regulations
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Forum_for_Harmonization_of_Vehicle_Regulations),
Amreeka build their NHTSA ones but they also based it on these. Our problem is that in stead of creating our own, helping them scale not just locally but globally, we look outside for help. We should help them become process oriented, etc…its doable..Nahi to haal dekh lo auto industry ka..Mehran hi khareedtay raheingay, we need competition but especially local one that can boost local businesses. Look at how the Black friday, went to White friday to bytes.pk’s 9 rupees…
Had never heard about Magiclamp so I went there to check their prices and the first thing I clicked, the Samsung 40J5100 LED TV is priced almost twice what it’s being sold on HSN and daraz. Nope.
Are you serious?
“The only reason you could be saying this is to get ‘Ships to Pakistan'”
Do you even know what Amazon is and what you are talking about?
Sir ji, getting paid online is a real hassle for freelancers and bloggers. Most advertising and freelancing platforms only support Paypal and Check. So, Pakistani bloggers can not use such services as getting paid through check would mean straight 25-35% cut from your income and getting that check cashed in Pakistan is another hassle. On the other hand, Paypal is the cheapest alternative with lowest charges. You are an author at Pakwheels and you still do not know about such things. Strange.
Well PayPal also takes a chunk when you transfer to bank from your account. Your point stands, it would help the freelancers, but that’s it. But i regards to e-commerce businesses, you guys would rather have ‘imported’ in stead of generating local…And I am not only an author at PakWheels, we built a local service.
payapl is a global platfrom and is being used by millions of pelple and companies around the globe, anyone having the credit card can pay you without opening the paypal account and transfering your money from paypal to your bank is totally free, they will only deduct few bucks when someone pays you !!
even if we introduce our local payment system , how gonna people pay which are from outside the country, think globally nor locally
Bro, withdrawal from Paypal to local bank account is free. So it is the cheapest service available today.
I totally agree with Baber. Indonasia has its own marketplace like ebay, https://www.bukalapak.com/ . Ebay tried to pull it’s share but miserably failed. People preferred local marketplace.
I can bet she even don’t know what paypal is actually :)
Actually, she does. She is a lawyer by profession and she was instrumental in getting the processes started. I still wont support PMLN. But if someone from their cabinet is making some effort, we should find it a miracle and keep fingers crossed. To hell with the controversies surrounding 3/4 auction. We at least have it now, and it all happened in presence of fierce media/judiciary, and strong opponents.
Lets stop mocking everything that has to do with Pak. Lets start respecting our own country, and at least some of its officials.
good news
Lol, you will invite but who will come?
this is the official way ,, if you want to invite somebody you will give them a call or give them card,, ( yeh toh nahi kehty main invite karun ga Who will Come ) ????
Asi news phly bhee suntay rhy hian… Lets cross the fingers and hope for the best.. :)
aisi news kabhi kisi minister nahi di , iss dafa aik it minister keh rahi hai !!!
chalo jinab Allah karay paypal Pakistan main aa geay.. bht helpful ho ga..
Big News! atleast she is starting to understand how important these companies are for future of ecommerce in Pakista
Better late than never.
Soon….30 years -_-
Kash ke waqai aisa ho jae :)
Umeed pay duniya qaim hai bro :)
If this happens i will die from happiness.This shows how much i am waiting for Paypal to come to Pakistan.
Just like you ‘soon’ opened YouTube !
I think I m dreaming
It doesn’t seem possible seeing the messed up system in the country, but my good wishes are with you.
Thank you Nawaz Shareef.
Credit where credit is due.
Credit for what lol? Making a promise just like all the million other promises he made and then totally forgot about?
Yes.
Lol, at least there’s one good thing about being so naive and oblivious. You’re pretty easy to please.
Exactly.
Great news! But s0on means 10-15 years?
if you write soon the way you wrote it, then yeah, 10-15 years.
Not from Pakistan (to the contrary from India) and do not believe in hate. I think a stable and economically strong Pakistan is important for the entire region. It would be great if the business environment supports big name firms. Rising middle class is the solution to most problems. Admin – Please do delete my comments if you think I shouldn’t be in this forum. Good luck to my Pakistani bros and sis. Thanks.
This is perhaps the only Paki site which does not delete anyone’s comment unless they are seriously offensive or threatening. People regularly and habitually take a jab at its founder(s) and they ignore graciously.
You, the people, said that 3G/4G would not happen, but It did! The same will go for this, In Sha ALLAH! Just Wait, and See! Something is better than nothing :D
Something???
Soon it will become everything for Mr. Dollar. Itny Taxes lagain gy kano ko hath lagany sy bhe daro gy.
Right Bro :(
If it worked it will be awesome.
Makes sense but local and foreign can coexist. Look at India. Every major company has expanded there yet their startup sector is booming. It’s being called Asia’s Silicon Valley. In addition, Indians are rising to executive ranks in foreign companies.
If this works and that’s a big if, more companies will set foot in Pakistan. Just imagine a Pakistani undergraduate interning or working at Google, Amazon or Apple’s office in Pakistan. The experience gained will surely help them build great companies (Flipkart is the biggest example of that)
please don’t make fool, pakistan is not a member of FATF http://www.fatf-gafi.org/countries/#FATF
Yes Please! Do That! Make it count ;)
Anusha and her like are completely enamoured by the west. If it wer a pti government they would be saying we will provide an environment where Pakistani equivalent Giants to PayPal and Amazon and eBay are fostered here rather than we will give these guys an invitation to Come and dominate our economy. Big difference.
Ho ho…hold it. Why cant PTI provide such an environment in KPK? Stop worshiping those mere mortals. Pakistani equivalent giants? Please dont insult our intellect.
That’s a good decision but I wonder if Payoneer is gonna like it because most of its business comes from Pakistan where users are required to first register for Payoneer before going to have a Paypal account.
so you are a real fanboy of her, protecting her on every comment on every post against her. nice going boy, i dont you about your love for your country but you do love anusha ;-)
never mind please :D
Sir not everyone is a drooler or a pervert online. And I hate to break it to you, but some people are apolitical.
However, I love you. Wanna meet some day ;)
Lmao.
Pakistan is member of APG in its white-list: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/countries/#Pakistan
APG ka member to bhai Afghanistan b hy, so what’t the big deal? If Pakistan is not a member of FATF, why did you give such an impression in your article?
oh please we need this, i have been waiting for this for ages.
You can use ebay even now. Ebay is just a marketplace open to all. Anyone can use it so long as he/she can pay for their shopping via paypal and the seller is willing to ship to Pakistan. The only hurdle we have right now is Paypal and our customs/post department.
You know why the government is doing that? Because taxes, baby!
The term “Soon” hopefully will be true. PayPal is much needed for freelancers in Pakistan.
One thing I don’t understand, paypal is available in devastated countries like Somalia which is totally war torn and conditions of law and order is 100 times poorer than Pakistan and Pakistan do not have it yet. It was not about FATF grey list but commission and bribery that forbid entry of Paypal in pakistan. Otherwise, Moneybookers (skrills) and Payoneer are working successfully in Pakistan. Payoneer is also American company.
Pakistan has been cleared by FATF back in February 2015. http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-riskandnon-cooperativejurisdictions/documents/fatf-compliance-february-2015.html. Has the honorable Minister realized this just now? If this is the pace of things here, they may “invite paypal. Amazon and Ebay for operations in Pakistan” by 2018 :)
YouTube khulwa nae sakte or Paypal Amazon ko “Invite” karne chale hain…. Wah re teri saadgi Chacheee…. :) :D
AOA All, being an IT head of a reputable company, I would like to sure my views. Problem is not Ebay, Paypal, Amazon, we already have market place, the main problem is creation E-Payment Gateway by Pakistan which is recognized internationally, just like Paypal. Easy paisa has to be moved online now, it is easily possible to make it like Paypal.
LOOK WHO IS TALKING? This FAT LADY is a LAWYER and is a minister of one of the most important departments in the world, IT and Telecommunications, with IT and Telco, we can end corruption and make system as easy as possible. Down with the PMLN Government, until and unless the educated class don’t come up in Elections, we will be ruled with GOOFS like this lady.
And in other news, YOUTUBE remains blocked !?
The 1st thing comes into my mind after reading above…….. Chal Jhooti :-)
Madam whether you are to open Ebay, Amazon or not, but for Heaven sake open YouTube.
bechara hamara mazdoor pehlay hi, china kay hatthoon say tang hai, mazdoor ki wafat ka poora intizaam kar diya hai sirf mobiles kay liye. v. sad
Jo baat Anusha ko smjh i hai kaash k woh ishaq dollar ko smjh ajaey. Phe dekhna kesy Paypal ki file ko wheels lagty hain :P :D
#rekt
The whole point of ebay is international market access. Anybody can just sell locally via ad sites. To reach a global audience for your goods and also have access to stuff available only in other countries is the biggest selling point of ebay. You are an idiot if you think its main feature is to be limited as a “local operation”
Why not? Given the choice between buying something from abroad and dealing with the hassle of customs, shipment delay, international warranties etc., or getting it locally from someone who has the same thing in stock, I’d always choose the latter.
yes, see above comment
Hmm, you’ve got a point there.
Ebay as a local ad website will never fly. Why would anyone pay the exorbitant 10-15% ebay/paypal fee when they can list and sell their items locally without paying such high fees.
The only plus point is buyer protection/seller protection which paypal provides by itself ( with its 4-5% fee ) hence ebays 10% tax is redundant.
Ebays is primarily used to reach a wider and global audience for your goods.
Anusha’s another political statement to remain in news ….. to let poor IT industry know that so called IT Minister and Ministry are still Alive …. Cheers !!
jhooti aurat hai ye
is bhains per buhat tap charti hai mujhay…youtube kholti nai…cyber bill banta nai…dth launch hota nai….. bs baatein kr wa lo…lawyer ki degree..and knows nothing about IT. manhuus govt
lol
I need PayPal in Pakistan really bad, right now my monthly transactions are over $8k and I am using 10 different accounts via different VPN. This would really help me grow. Can’t wait :)
good step to be done via techmediapak
This is going to be so much fun!
and what about youtube?
comments parh k lagta a yahan per hr banda Amazon and eBay ka malik a, aur koi bhi Pakistan me business ni krna chahta, for God sake yar, be Pakistanis, agr yeh companies India jesy mulk me chal skti hain to Pakistan me kya problem a.
aur rahi baat honesty and dishonesty of people ki, to yeh cheezain time k sath e theek hoti hain, atleast agar Govt try kr rhi a, to is baat ko appreciate to kro. aur itni bari companies jahan bhi apna store kholti hain, proper R&D kr k baad e kholti hain stores, so all guys who are trying to be free Advisors to eBay and Amazon are requested to keep their mouth shut. (sorry if that is harsh, but thats what i can say about such negative minded people)
Wow !
I almost lost all of my hopes of seeing Amazing and PayPal available in Pakistan as well just like India.
Such a Great NEWS, I am so happy :)
Hope and pray this news soon become a working reality in Pakistan.
Amazon and ebay like websites already there. We just need good online payment gateway nothing else..
I have bought an account from Auction Essistance due to PayPal not being available in Pakistan. It does allow me to sell and accept money, but would still rather much enjoy having an account based in Pakistan if they were to allow.
this made me more happier than my gf message come im home alone
WHO IS PAYPAL?
why u need paypal??
u have 180 M people then y u need paypal?
u are pakistani …. u are PAKISTAN then y u need paypal?
is paypal one and only solution online payments /receipts ?
y u didnt think abt ur own online payment method ? is paypal the only team in the world ?
my
pakistani bros u have every thing please unite urself share ur
knowledge n make ur own world famous alternative paypal solution . y u
are begging these juses…for help..
Hazrat Qauid e azam Hazrat Alama M iqbal are watching u …
unity faith and determination hardworking and beliv in ALLAH gives u every thing
…..
discuss with ur friends make ur team and effort for success ….
u didnt need paypal u need urself … think abt u …think abt pakistan….
i salute u atta bhai and propakistani team please pakistani bros follow atta bhai cos nothing is impossible.
please dont begg for decade per dacade make ur own aaj se 10 saal pehly kuch bnaya hota aaj kaahan hota?
atleast
pakistan ki hadd tak bna du jis ki services all over pakistan main hon
pher khud tum se paypal ne rabita na kia tuh kehna…
(tip: jin k
paas knowledge hai skills hain wo sb unite ho kr payment solution bnao
SBP ya kisi pakistani bank se joint venture krlo paisy jor lo apas main
and ager paypal k bin guzara e nai tuh aik kaam kro koi agent betha lo
koi company jo agay linking paypal se jor le … koi tuh solution nikalo
kb tak paypal ko roty raho gy)
its been 5 months of this post but no sign of amazon ebay in pakistan?
The post is 12 months old and we are waiting for the soon so sad
One Year Passed! hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahhahaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahhahahahahahahahah
We are very late Dear Madam…
The article is wonderful and Anusha Rahman as delivered her views about some companies which she wants to bring them in Pakistan we welcome her efforts.
its 2017 here… I am still waiting