Unisame urges government to invite PayPal and Stripe to Pakistan.

The Ministry of Industries and production ( MoI&P) invited proposals for budget 2024-5 and held a meeting in Islamabad presided by its federal minister Rana Tanveer Hussain.
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) convener for Information Technology Salman Merchant represented the Union and participated on social media.
Salman appreciated the governments plan to exempt start ups from taxes in the coming budget but he submitted that the import duties on raw material makes the goods uncompetitive for exports and unaffordable for domestic markets.
He said it is necessary to attract companies interested in outsourced manufacturing and it is important to leverage the exchange rate to be competitive in the region V/S Bangladesh & India.
There needs to be more clear guidelines regarding the imported goods and a proper import policy considering the challenge of lack of foreign exchange due to insufficient funds due to meager exports.
He advised the policy makers to decrease the duty on imported electronic goods.
There is immediate need for PayPal & Stripe in Pakistan and the government must take the initiative to bring them to Pakistan as fast as possible.
He emphasized the need to have an infrastructure and SOPs recognized by the government and relevant state authorities to gain trust of these gateways.
and the need to educate the businesses about return policies and privacy policies. A Better
e-commerce infrastructure is required.
There is need to gain the trust of consumer using e_commerce
He pleaded that a mechanism is needed to counter frauds and also ensure that the right product is delivered against the products taken.
There can be local verification with the help of banks and NADRA.
Verification will help the payment gateways to gain trust in the system.
This will help freelancers bring foreign exchange to Pakistan.
This will also channelize the foreign exchange coming to Pakistan and will also help us in decreasing the trade deficit.
This will also help boost our local exports of goods and services
Also, we should include logistic companies as partners to cater to this requirement
Another important shortcoming was later conveyed to MoI&P was
that all business of export to Iran is conducted through Dubai because of no currency swap agreement between Pakistan and Iran.

Posted in: Press Releases