ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, presided over meeting here Tuesday on the establishment of Pakistan International E-payment Gateway (IPG) to pave way for financial inclusion and payment digitization, which is a sub-component of the 9-pillars of the E-Commerce policy.
According to press statement issued by the Finance Ministry, the consultative session was held with all relevant stakeholders to identify gaps between payment solutions available domestically and its integration with international payment gateway solution providers to promote e-commerce.
Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister directed for following best international practices and devising a way forward for implementing international payment gateway ensuring transparency and due consultation with key stakeholders both in public and private sectors.
He constituted a four-member Committee headed by the Secretary Commerce and comprising representatives of Ministry of Commerce, Finance Division and FBR.
He directed the committee to seek input from the President, Pakistan Banking Association (PBA) and leading market players from the private sector to understand their requirements and present a framework for further deliberation after four weeks.
He said that the government would be the facilitator and regulator in a journey towards implementing IPG. The establishment of international e-payment gateway would improve consumer confidence in E-Commerce through global connectivity, he added.
On the occasion, the Adviser on Commerce briefed the participants about the current digital financial landscape in the country while Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) outlined steps being taken for the financial inclusion of domestic banks.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecom assured full facilitation in provision of enabling environment to the service providers as needed under IPG.
Among others, the session was attended by Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, CEO NITB Syed Hussain Abbas Kazmi, Secretary Commerce, senior policy analyst and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
Governor State Bank Dr. Reza Baqir joined the meeting through a video link, the statement added.