Daily Times

To ensure a smooth transition and onboarding process for prospective freelancers, the SBP has also advised banks to proactively facilitate freelancers’ entry into the banking system under the framework’s provisions.

This move is expected to be welcomed by freelancers who often faced bureaucratic challenges when opening accounts in the past.

These groundbreaking instructions provided by the SBP will supersede any prior guidelines or regulations concerning Freelancer Digital Accounts (FDA) and have been incorporated into the SBP’s Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework.

With this progressive initiative, the State Bank of Pakistan is not only acknowledging the significance of the freelance workforce but also making it easier for these individuals to manage their finances and earnings in a more convenient and secure manner. Freelancers and industry experts alike are looking forward to the positive impact of this development on Pakistan’s growing freelance sector.

SBP increases retention limit of IT exporters to 50%. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday introduced new measures to facilitate Information Technology Exporters and Freelancers for bolstering exports of IT and IT-enabled services.

SBP has increased the permissible retention limit of IT exporters from 35% to 50% of their export proceeds in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs) while usage of the balances available in the ESFCAs has been simplified by allowing the IT exporters to make their payments from these accounts without any approval from SBP or banks.

The new framework is not limited to new accounts. All existing Freelancer Digital Accounts (FDA) will be considered to have been opened under this improved framework, offering freelancers a host of benefits and simplifications. This initiative is a testament to the SBP’s commitment to fostering a thriving freelance economy within the country.

The banks have also been advised to facilitate the issuance of debit cards, enabling the IT exporters to make online payments from the balances available in their ESFCAs, said a statement issued here.

A new Framework for Freelancers has been introduced to further ease the opening of their bank accounts and allow higher retention of amounts in their foreign currency (FCY) accounts, it stated adding that the freelancers would now be able to open the bank accounts both digitally and physically at their choice with minimum documentation requirements.

Their ESFCAs shall be opened concurrently with the opening of their primary PKR account, it further added.

Under the newly introduced measures, the freelancers could retain 50% of their export proceeds or USD 5,000 per month- whichever is higher- in their ESFCAs and could make all payments from those accounts without any approval from SBP or banks.