In a significant development for Pakistan’s online freelancers, outgoing interim Minister for Information Technology, Umar Saif, delivered promising news on Saturday. He announced that starting this month, freelancers would be able to receive PayPal remittances directly into their bank accounts for services rendered to international clients.
The absence of PayPal in Pakistan had posed considerable challenges for freelancers and small businesses, limiting their ability to receive payments from abroad easily and securely. This issue not only affected individual freelancers but also had broader implications for Pakistan’s digital economy, which relies heavily on young professionals undertaking Internet-based projects from overseas.
Previous appeals from freelancers to the government to facilitate PayPal’s entry into the country had been unsuccessful, with the international payment company citing concerns about business viability and risks related to fraud and money laundering.
Minister Saif revealed that Pakistan’s online freelancers would now be able to receive PayPal remittances through a tri-party arrangement, eliminating the need to create a PayPal wallet. This arrangement would involve a third-party digital wallet utilizing an international remittance mechanism to transfer dollars to Pakistan and instantly credit freelancers’ bank accounts.
Furthermore, freelancers would be permitted by the central bank to open accounts against their digital wallets, issue debit cards, and establish dollar accounts, facilitating the use of their earnings. Saif highlighted that freelancers registering with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) would only be subject to a nominal 0.25 percent tax.
Saif emphasized that alongside plans to establish 10,000 e-rozgaar (e-earning) centers, this initiative aimed to fully leverage the earning potential of Pakistan’s online freelancers, contributing to the country’s economic growth and digital transformation.
