Pakistan Ecommerce in Banks

The government of Pakistan started an information-technology (IT) and e-commerce initiative in early 2000; the banks in Pakistan were expected to lead the way into e-commerce. Some business-to-business (B2B) portals are available, but they are designed more for information than transactions.

Pakistan Ecommerce in banks and exchange companies offer online funds transfers from overseas, such as for workers’ remittances. Pakistan ecommerce in banks offer mobile-phone banking, where customers can pay utility bills using their mobile phones. The National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), an automated check-clearing house, was operating in 14 cities in August 2006, and it processed 60m checks per year in 2005/06. NIFT is a public-private company owned 51% by banks.

Internet merchant accounts (used for processing financial transactions of Internet vendors) were permitted by the State Bank of Pakistan (the central bank) in February 2001. However, inadequate infrastructure and security concerns remain, and in mid-2006 only Citibank (US) offered these accounts, which were used by airlines, mobile companies, Internet service providers and merchants. The transactions that do occur use international credit cards, which are processed outside Pakistan.

Users of Internet merchant accounts undertaking transactions outside Pakistan need to submit electronic forms for transactions valued at US$500 or more to their banks, which must then submit the same in consolidated form on a monthly basis to the central bank.