Business Desk 
May 02, 2025
In a development unfavourable for the country's so-far booming IT sector, a growing number of IT firms in Pakistan are reportedly moving their operations to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) owing to the country’s ongoing failure to establish an international payment gateway.
The absence of Pakistan's own reliable payment method for international transactions has been a major problem for years, affecting businesses and costing the economy export earnings.
The issue was raised by the President of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday.
The FCCI president revealed that 30 IT firms from Faisalabad alone have shifted their operations abroad because of difficulties in receiving payments from international clients, the key reason behind countless other IT companies doing so.
“This is a critical issue for Pakistan’s IT exports. The absence of a gateway is pushing businesses to operate from abroad, and their foreign earnings are no longer benefiting Pakistan,” he said.
Given that, the nonexistence of a proper gateway will likely continue to render foreign transactions slow and unsafe.
Although the government recently celebrated $2.4 billion in IT exports, the FCCI head believes that the country's IT firms' potential is far higher.
