TransferWise (now known as Wise), a popular financial service used by freelancers to transfer funds to Pakistani accounts, was briefly not accessible on several Pakistani ISPs.
It initially appeared that PTA had to do something around the ban as service was not accessible across several internet service providers, which suggested that this could be a move by PTA to block the service in the country.
While we were unable to obtain an official confirmation from the PTA, both TransferWise mobile app and website were not functioning from within Pakistan, suggesting that it was likely a blocking pattern triggered by PTA.
An MoITT official said that they had no information about this and that the State Bank of Pakistani deals with remittances.
Not to mention, TransferWise website and app were working fine through VPN.
We are currently unaware of the reason behind the glitch, but it seems that there may be a concern about the flight of dollars on the part of the government, which resulted in the ban. However, it is ironic since the freelancers use TransferWise to transfer dollars into Pakistan, rather than vice versa.
So either it was a technical glitch, or PTA reversed its decision. Regardless, the service is back to normal and seemingly there’s nothing to worry about.
It has become increasingly difficult, in recent times, for Pakistani IT companies or freelancers to work with international clients and receive payment to a Pakistani bank.
Currently, only a few services support the instant transfer of USDs from abroad to Pakistani banks, and TransferWise is one of them.
It should also be noted that dollars coming to Pakistan through IT companies and freelancers are subject to multiple checks and can usually take several days to clear, making it very difficult to transfer dollars into Pakistan.
On the other hand, if you want to use hawala or hundi services, the workflow is not only seamless but also offers exchange rates that are at least 7-10 percent better, which may encourage IT companies to use illegal channels for transferring funds to Pakistan.