Google has temporarily suspended the purchase of carrier-paid apps in Pakistan owing to non-payment of outstanding dues following the shutdown of the direct payment mechanism by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The development was confirmed by the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom (MoITT).
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) suspended the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), however, it is worth mentioning here that the suspension only implies local transit. Meanwhile, Google is still accepting payments for paid apps through the credit card option.
Meanwhile, Amin-ul-Haque said that the telecom operators had been given a one-month time to implement payment procedures and within a month, the Ministry of IT, Finance, and State Bank would formulate a plan of action in mutual consultation in that regard.
Syed Aminul Haque proposed a plan for paying for Google App services which were accepted by the Ministry of Finance. The minister at the time stated that SBP had been instructed to postpone the DCB mechanism policy’s implementation for one month.
It may be noted here that last week the SBP suspended $34 million in payments to international service providers like Google, Amazon, and Meta, which results in the suspension of carrier-paid apps services in Pakistan.
Earlier CEO Jazz also praised the efforts of IT Minister Syed Amin-ul-Haque, also thanked Ishaq Dar and Tariq Bajwa in a tweet stating, “Relieved to see the DCB issue progressing towards a resolution.
Thank you Syed Amin-ul-Haque and Thank you Ishaq Dar & SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa for ensuring Google Play apps remain available to Pakistani users. A whole-of-government approach is needed to strengthen the digital ecosystem”
Remember that Google earlier issued a warning for Pakistan that Mobile users won’t be able to get Google Play Store Paid services from 1st December 2022 as the State Bank of Pakistan blocked the payment of $34 million to international service providers.
The payment of $34 million annually to overseas service providers like Google, Amazon, and Meta through mobile firms became stalled after the central bank stopped using the direct carrier billing (DCB) mechanism.
Read More : Play Store Paid Services to be unavailable from 1st December in Pakistan
