The present government of Pakistan is keen on advancing the nation’s digital infrastructure and is therefore planning to introduce the country’s first ever IPG to provide ease of doing business to the digital users.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and the National IT Board (NITB) under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is going to launch the country’s first IPG.
The Ministry said that it was aiming for User’s Digital payments with ease, convenience and enhanced safety. To make this possible, a user sensitive approach has been adopted and the ministry has requested the users to provide a detailed feedback regarding the features for enhanced usability of IPG.
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This system aims to facilitate the acceptance of electronic payment for online transactions. Freelancers, e-commerce retailers and small traders need to define their needs for international payments to benefit from IPG.
The Ministry has also asked the concerned people to disclose the problems that they have been facing in receiving international payments. It has also requested for details of security-related aspects in obtaining international payments and fraud-related issues when dealing with international and cross-border payments. The Ministry has invited suggestions from the users as to what they would like for the government to do to meet their particular needs when making online transactions. The IPG targets to make the digital payment system as convenient, fast and secure as it possibly can for the digital users.
The launch of this IPG could be considered as another step by the current government towards the digitization of Pakistan. The country introduced its first Digital Policy in 2018 and since then there has been no looking back. In line with his vision to allow greater connectivity, productivity, and security in the country, PM Khan inaugurated the ‘Digital Pakistan’ project in 2019. This project aims advance digital infrastructure, increase investment in digital skills, promote innovation, and tech. entrepreneurship.
Now that the digitization efforts have become a part of the national strategy, the country in the near future is going to reap economic, social and political benefits including an increase in GDP, more job creation and efficiency in services which would result in cost reductions. From civic and public services to banking, business, commerce and trade- none of these sectors can be excluded from the digitization program. Digital payments methods specifically saw a major development in the span of four to five years throughout the world. During the pandemic, it was necessary to improve online transactions by making them safe, accurate and faster as it was the only way to sustain economic activity in the country.
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Apart from initiating the IPG, the government of Pakistan also launched RAAST which is the country’s first government-run instant digital payment system which enables secure, fast and transparent financial transactions amongst individuals, businesses and government entities. This initiative by Prime Minister Imran Khan is aimed at including poor segments of the society in the formal economy. It will enable end to end financial transactions among businesses, individuals and government entities.
It is now evident that the future is digital and it is hoped that Pakistan’s well implemented digital policy would enable it transform the digital landscape of the country.