Good news will come in the next six weeks regarding PayPal and Stripe’s availability to Pakistani freelancers, Caretaker IT Minister Umar Saif said on Wednesday.

“We will make them available for Pakistani freelancers under a formula. We have spoken with PayPal, Stripe, and Wise and presented our case in front of them. We are taking a step every day,” he told a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

For him, freelancers face challenges in receiving payments from abroad due to the absence of these platforms. “They are not able to withdraw small amounts due to the lack of a financial instrument.”

“There are around 1.5 million individuals working in the online economy. It means Pakistan ranks second in the largest online workforce,” he said.

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However, Saif decried the lack of infrastructure and resources for holding the freelancers back to contribute to the IT industry of Pakistan.

“We are going to give interest-free loans to the private sector to convert their unutilised real estate, shopping plazas, and office buildings in e-Rozgaar centres,” he added.

The goal of the government is to provide working facilities to around 500,000 freelancers, Saif said.