Old payment system for Google apps not yet restored

ISLAMABAD: Google has not yet restored the downloading of purchased applications through cellular mobile operators in Pakistan, though the paid applications can be obtained through payment with a credit card or debit card only.

Even though the government instructed the State Bank of Pakistan to restore the Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) mechanism for downloading Google-purchased applications via mobile phones for one month, the restoration of Google-purchased applications will be available after five to 10 days because the stuck-up payment will be made through designated banks, and it will take a few days before the old system is fully restored.

“Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque was supposed to contact SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa on Friday and request him to expedite the process of restoring the DCB mechanism as soon as possible because customers have been anxiously awaiting the restoration of the old payment system,” said one government official. Some customers contacted this scribe and showed messages received by them wherein it was stated in the instructions to please add credit or debit card information for downloading Google-purchased applications. “We expect that the old payment system will be restored within a seven to 10-day period,” said the official, who added that Google had already announced the purchased application could be downloaded through a credit card or debit card with effect from Dec 1, 2022, so they implemented the decision for Pakistani customers.

Now the government will have to implement its instructions for restoring the old payment system known as DCB, whereby mobile operators will pay for downloading purchased apps while the amount will be deducted from the customers’ balances on their mobile phones.