ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin presided over the meeting on the establishment of Pakistan International E-payment Gateway (IPG).

The IPG will pave the way for financial inclusion and payment digitalisation, which is a sub-component of the nine pillars of the e-Commerce policy.

A consultative session was held with all the relevant stakeholders to identify gaps between payment solutions available domestically and its integration with the international payment gateway solution providers to promote e-commerce.

The adviser on commerce briefed the participants about the current digital financial landscape in the country.

SBP Governor Reza Baqir outlined the steps being taken for the financial inclusion of the domestic banks.

The federal minister for IT and telecom assured full facilitation in the provision of enabling environment to the service providers as needed under IPG.

Tarin directed to follow the best international practices and devise a way forward for implementing international payment gateway, ensuring transparency and due consultation with the key stakeholders both in public and private sectors.

The finance minister constituted a four-member committee headed by the commerce secretary and comprising representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, Finance Division and FBR.

Tarin also directed to seek input from the president of the 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.

In his concluding remarks, the finance minister said the government will be the facilitator and a regulator in a journey towards implementing IPG.

The establishment of an international e-payment gateway will improve the consumers’ confidence in e-Commerce through global connectivity.

Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haque, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, NITB CEO Syed Hussain Abbas Kazmi, Commerce secretary, senior policy analysts and other senior officials participated in the meeting.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Reza Baqir joined the meeting through a video-link.