Google Play services saved by the bell  in Pakistan | shami_info

ISLAMABAD: As the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had discontinued the direct carrier billing (DCB) system, it was previously anticipated that Google Play Store services would no longer be accessible to Pakistani consumers after December 1.

The majority of users won't be able to download apps from the Google Play Store due to the limited credit card facilities, and users would have had to use their bank cards to access the services.

Since the action would inconvenience customers, the telecom ministry, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), and cellular service providers had approached the SBP to request that the decision be reversed.

Syed Aminul Haque, the minister of information technology and telecommunication, stated in a statement today that the ministry of finance has accepted a proposal "with regard to developing an effective mechanism and making payment against the Google App services."

He stated that the IT and finance ministries would decide on the course of action in consultation with the SBP within a month, and that the central bank has been directed to postpone the execution of the policy suspending DCB.

The minister added that although telecom providers had been given a month to adopt the new billing policy, they had requested help from the IT ministry.

Haque also thanked Tariq Bajwa, Special Assistant for Finance, for acting quickly to inform Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which allowed the crisis to be averted.