The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reportedly given go-ahead for the establishment of an international payment gateway to monitor remittances through the National Information Technology Board (NITB).

This information has been shared with the federal cabinet in a recent meeting when the performance of NITB came under discussion.

A query was raised on the status of two projects, namely, Anti-Money Laundering and International Payment Gateway. It was apprised that the International Payment Gateway was delayed as State Bank of Pakistan had not provided the compliance matrix.

However, the go-ahead from SBP has now been received and, accordingly, the work on the project has been initiated. It was, however, acknowledged that NITB has contributed to NCOC work on creating databases and digitization of NGOs registration at EAD.

The Chief Executive Officer of The National Information Technology Board (NITB) gave a presentation to the Cabinet on the performance of the organization. He stated that a couple of Ordinances regarding revamping of the NITB Charter and data nervous system have lapsed whereas some other legislation is stuck at different levels.

Sources in the Ministry of IT say, President Dr. Arif Alvi has given a one-month deadline to the Ministry of IT and relevant departments to introduce an international payment system like PayPal in Pakistan.

According to a senior IT ministry official, tenders will be opened in the next few days for an agreement with international companies for the new payment system and after the agreement, Pakistani consumers will be able to use other international payment options, including PayPal.

With the approval of the International Payment Gateway, Pakistanis will be able to send money around the world at a lower rate and also receive money from abroad for their products and services.