ISLAMABAD: PayPal, which is an online payment system, has agreed to sign an agreement with another company in Pakistan through which freelancers will be able to receive money, The News reported on Monday.
Payoneer — which is also a digital payment service — secures money earned by freelancers from abroad and transfers it to the recipient’s bank account in the country.
It remains to be seen how much this company Payoneer will charge for its services for transferring the amount from both sides — PayPal and working freelancers.
There are approximately 4 million freelancers in the country, of which approximately 1.5 million work permanently. It is considered a growing phenomenon in Pakistan, especially among the IT-skilled youth.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom have also signed an agreement with PayPal to put in place a framework to operationalize this arrangement. The Ministry of IT & Telecom will announce this mechanism during this week of 11th January 2024.
Now, freelancers could open dollar accounts, but they would have to keep 50% of the amount in US dollars in their accounts. Thus, the official government fulfilled one of the main demands of freelancers in the country.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications Dr. In a video message, Umair Saif said that there is good news that Pakistani freelancers will be able to receive their money through PayPal.
“We came up with a mechanism where there would be no need to open a PayPal account. Now anyone sitting outside Pakistan can send money through PayPal account and then it can be received in Pakistani banks,” he added.