KARACHI – The State Bank of Pakistan has elaborated latest measures aimed at facilitating IT exporters and freelancers.
In a video posted on microblogging site X (Twitter) on Friday, SBP has highlighted various steps aimed to facilitate IT exporters and freelancers.
#SBP has introduced new measures to facilitate IT Exporters and Freelancers. To know more, watch the video.#SBPXplains #IT #Freelancers pic.twitter.com/ccvEm0srPq
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 3, 2023
The facilities include increasing the permissible retention limit of IT exporters to 50% of their export proceeds in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs). IT exporters can make their payments from these accounts without any approval from the SBP or banks.
Banks will facilitate issuance of debit cards, enabling the IT exporters to make online payments from the balances available in their ESFCAs.
The freelancers will now be able to open the bank accounts both digitally and physically at their choice with minimum documentation requirements.
The ESFCAs shall be opened concurrently with the opening of their primary PKR account. The freelancers can retain 50% of their export proceeds or $5,000/- per month, whichever is higher, in their ESFCAs and can make all payments from these accounts without any approval from the SBP or banks.