Business

In Pakistan, a visa for a tenfold growth in the use of digital payment methods

Published

2 months ago

Farwa

Visa intends to increase the number of businesses in Pakistan that accept digital payments by a factor of ten over the course of the next three business years.

Visa’s general manager for Pakistan, North Africa, and the Levant, Leila Serhan, has stated that the following holds true. Visa’s new strategic relationship with 1Link, Pakistan’s leading payment service provider, is designed to improve remittance processes and promote digital transactions in the nation. This announcement corresponds with Visa’s new agreement with 1Link.

It is estimated that Pakistan has one of the greatest populations of people who do not have bank accounts in the world, with 240 million people. There are around 83 million persons in the country who are currently in possession of a bank account, which is just sixty percent of the total population of 137 million adults in the country.

With the goal of making digital transactions more accessible and inexpensive, Visa is investing in the development of digital payment infrastructure.

The number of point-of-sale (POS) machines in Pakistan is currently 120,541. With the goal of achieving a tenfold rise in the number of businesses that accept digital payment methods, Visa intends to significantly boost this number. The point-of-sale (POS) machines in certain firms are several. In a statement, Serhan stated, “We are aiming to tenfold the acceptance of digital transactions among businesses.”

Using technology that enables mobile phones to be used for payments and supporting a variety of payment methods, such as QR codes and card taps, are both components of the company’s expansion plan.

The goal of Visa is to access not only major metropolitan areas and well-known enterprises, but also smaller businesses located all throughout the country. “We’re really looking forward to finishing this technical integration in the coming months, and I think it’s going to be a game changer for a lot of the consumers in Pakistan,” said Serhan in an interview.

With the help of 1Link, the remittance processes are going to be improved, the payment security will be improved, and transactions will be encouraged to take place through official channels. Remittances are an important source of revenue for Pakistan, which is a major beneficiary of these money. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and GDP are both dependent on these funds.

The impact of the technical connection with 1Link was something that Serhan expressed hope about, and he anticipated that it would be of substantial benefit to Pakistani consumers. Not only that, but the agreement will make it possible for 1Link’s PayPak cards to be used on Visa’s Cybersource platform for online transactions. This is despite the fact that PayPak is a competitor in the digital payments industry.

In accordance with the recent bailout agreement that Pakistan reached with the International Monetary Fund, which was worth $7 billion, this decision is in line with the changes that are intended to increase revenue and formalize the economy. “Digital payments are going to be at the heart of what the government wants to do from a digitization perspective, and we will continue to partner with them,” Mr. Serhan stated.

Business

Petrol prices are expected to experience another increase in Pakistan.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

The inflation-affected nation is expected to encounter another increase in petrol prices, with recommendations indicating a rise of Rs. 2.58 per litre for petrol and Rs. 5.91 per litre for high-speed diesel.

Sources indicate that, if sanctioned, petrol prices will ascend to Rs. 250.96 per litre, whereas high-speed diesel will be priced at Rs. 261.05 per litre.

Sources indicated that the suggested increase is due to the elevated premium on petroleum products in the worldwide market and rising import expenses.

The premium on imported petroleum products has increased, leading the government to contemplate pricing modifications effective November 16, sources indicated.

On October 31, the federal government published the prices of petroleum products for the upcoming fortnight, increasing the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel.

A notification announced an increase in petrol price by Rs 1.35, raising it to Rs 248.38 a litre. The price of high-speed diesel was fixed at Rs 255.14 per litre after an increase of Rs 3.85.

Also read: Pakistan’s weekly inflation jumps to 15.02pc

Simultaneously, the costs of light diesel and kerosene oil were reduced. The statement states that kerosene oil is priced at Rs 148.5 per litre following a reduction of Rs 4.92.

The cost of light fuel was reduced by Rs 2.61 to Rs 147.51 per litre.

The rampant hike in the prices came at the time when the weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.28 percent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on October 17, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to the PBS data, the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 319.79 points as compared to 318.91 points during the past week.

In comparison to the same week last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group during the reviewed week experienced a 15.02 percent increase.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

Likewise, SPI for the lowest consumption group of up to Rs 17,732 witnessed increase of 0.27 percent and went up to 313.74 points from last week’s 312.91 points.

Business

PIA Privatization Is Referred to the Cabinet Committee by the Privatization Commission Board Meeting

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

The privatization of Pakistan International Airlines has been referred to a cabinet committee by the Privatization Commission Board.

Aleem Khan, the Federal Minister for Privatization and Communications, presided over the board meeting, which examined and accepted proposals on a number of topics, including the privatization of Pia.

The government would move forward with privatization in line with the law and in Pakistan’s best interests, Federal Minister Aleem Khan reaffirmed.

He added that the entire privatization process for the PITA and other state agencies would be expedited and simplified.

Following prequalification, the Privatization Commission is unable to remove any department or institution from Privatization, as was decided during the meeting.

Additionally, the Federal Minister directed that the pre-qualifying conditions and privatization be made more profitable.

Members of the Privatization Commission will be included in the Privatization Process through a three-member committee.

Business

Gas production from the Dera Bugti well commences at 5 MMSCFD.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

Dera Bugti, Balochistan is home to a freshly drilled well that the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has started producing gas from.

The natural gas output of Pakistan has been significantly boosted by this breakthrough.

A letter sent by OGDCL to the Pakistan Stock Exchange states that the well is generating five million standard cubic feet of gas each day, which is quite an astounding amount.

The Uch Gas Processing Plant has been effectively connected with the gas output, which will help distribute and streamline the increased gas supply. The Dera Bugti well is fully owned by OGDCL, the biggest exploration and production company in the country, as stated in its letter to the PSX.

In response to a decline in power demand, Pakistan opted to divert its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to local users on November 12th.

This article also discusses Pakistan’s decision to use imported LNG for domestic use.

The Ministry of Petroleum has estimated that an amount of Rs163 billion will be necessary to fund the supply of LNG to households in the country. According to sources, the pressure on pipelines is continuously increasing due to the imported LNG.

Confirmation from reliable sources indicates that 600 MMcfd of LNG has been consumed by the power industry. Since captive power facilities are being shut down, there will be an excess of 150MMcfd of LNG, and the gas industry is also making 400 billion rupees from captive electricity.

To solve the problem of circular debt, the government intends to raise gas pricing and do away with the tariff differential between domestic gas and LNG imports.

There is a current tariff of Rs1,550 per MMcfd on domestic gas and Rs3,500 per MMcfd on imported LNG. The government hopes to earn Rs200 billion by removing this tariff difference. As a part of the larger strategy to raise government revenue, the tariff for fertiliser firms will also be hiked.