SBP Postpones Suspension of DCB Payments on Google Play Store Services

The State Bank of Pakistan has postponed the suspension of Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) payments to foreign tech companies, including Google Play Store Services after the Ministry of Finance, on the request of Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Amin-ul-Haque, approved the release of blocked payments to international service providers.

According to the Geo News, the SBP had suspended payment of $34 million from Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) to foreign tech companies, which was to be paid after telecom companies found a loophole to make these payments through invoices for services received themselves, including Satellite Transponder, International Bandwidth / Internet / Private Line Services, Software License / Maintenance / Support, and service to use electronic media and databases.

Initially, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that it was suspending Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) mechanism until these telecom companies went through proper channel and obtained permission for these services from the central bank, which meant that users would have been unable to buy apps on the Google Play Store using their mobile balance or pay for any other services from foreign tech giants like Amazon and Meta.

What is Direct Carrier Billing (DCB)?

Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) allows users to pay for apps or in-app purchases on the Google Play Store using their mobile credit. According to the details, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has suspended DCB payments worth $34 million to overseas tech companies to save the country’s precious foreign exchange reserves.

This method of payment is also available for services obtained from other tech companies like Amazon, Meta or even Netflix to buy their streaming packages.

However, telecom companies weren’t actually allowed to carry out these payments, which were being made by including them in the invoices for services obtained by the company itself. It is pertinent to mention that SBP has specified certain Information Technology (IT) related services, which such entities can acquire from aboard for their own use and make foreign exchange payments there against up to USD 100,000 per invoice.

According to Geo News, the IT Minister has confirmed that Finance Ministry has agreed to release the blocked payments as per schedule. He said that “paid Google Play apps will not be suspended in Pakistan.” adding that Finance Minister has directed SBP to postpone the implementation of the policy.

This gives telecom operators a month to implement the payment mechanism in a proper way by requesting the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Read more: SBP Rebuts Holding Payments to Google.

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