Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in collaboration with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) U.S.A organized a seminar on ‘Financial Inclusion and E-commerce Issues’ here at PTA Headquarters, Islamabad. The seminar was a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges to flourish digital economy in Pakistan. The event was attended by the representatives from the MoIT, State Bank of Pakistan, telecom industry, the World Bank and senior officials of PTA.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Abdul Samad, Member (Compliance and Enforcement) PTA, said that PTA being regulator of the telecom sector has been proactive in facilitating the industry for innovative solutions. To build momentum and push reforms to achieve universal financial inclusion in an integrated and sustained manner, PTA, a member of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) council and steering committee, has actively participated in the implementation of action plan envisaged in the NFIS. Furthermore, PTA and SBP have worked closely to develop an appropriate regulatory framework to strengthen digital financial services in Pakistan. In this regard, PTA, in collaboration with SBP, has started issuing Third Party Service Providers (TPSP) licenses, to facilitate commercial and technical arrangements between cellular mobile operators and financial institutions.
On the occasion, speakers from reputable institutes and organizations delivered keynote presentations on International and Domestic initiatives to encourage financial inclusion, development of E-commerce, and current issues. Panel discussions on expanding financial inclusion in Pakistan, and proper regulatory regime to optimize Fixed/Mobile Convergence were also held. The speakers addressed the potential and challenges of digital financial services in Pakistan, the need of robust initiatives for financial inclusion, informed decision and policy making, and gender neutral policy and products with a special focus on rural and associated value chain.
