Google has not yet allowed Pakistani mobile operators to download paid applications again and they can only be purchased using a credit or debit card.
Despite the government giving the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) orders, the direct carrier billing (DCB) system for downloading Google-purchased programs via mobile phones for a month has not been reinstated, according to media reports.
Reports suggest that the system will be back up in five to ten days since payments that are delayed will be processed through a certain bank, which takes time to process.
According to a government official, the SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa was to receive a call from Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque on Friday asking him to speed up the process of restoring the DCB mechanism because customers have been “anxiously awaiting the restoration of the old payment system.”
Government officials stated that they anticipate the former payment system to be reinstated in seven to ten days.
The decision was put into effect for Pakistani users, he continued, because Google had already declared that paid applications will be available for download using a credit or debit card starting on December 1, 2022.
The government must immediately carry out its directives to reinstate the DCB payment, enabling cell operators to pay for the download of acquired apps using funds stored in their phone balances.
