During the ‘Week of Youth’ celebrations, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, launched the BOP Freelancer Segment and Credit Card. The event was held to distribute cheques among the beneficiaries of the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS). The President and CEO of BOP, Mr. Zafar Masud, and other senior officials were present at the ceremony.
Through this initiative, the Bank of Punjab aims to improve the financial access of the freelancer community in Pakistan by addressing their transactional, lending, and payment-related needs. Additionally, the proposition aims to enhance the country’s potential for attracting foreign exchange.
Mr. Zafar Masud highlighted the potential of freelancers in Pakistan, stating that there are around 3 million freelancers in the country who contributed $400m to the total information and communication technologies export remittances of $2.616 billion recorded during FY 2022. The freelancer segment & credit card initiative can help unlock this potential and support the economy. Freelancers and IT professionals can open Freelancer Digital Accounts in both PKR and USD, which can bring foreign remittances through official channels and support enhanced credit and debit limits of up to USD 5,000 per month & USD 30,000 per annum. Furthermore, IT professionals and companies can retain 35% of their export proceeds in such special foreign currency accounts to bring and retain foreign exchange earnings.
The BOP PSEB co-branded Debit & Credit cards are available for freelancers, which offer access to exciting tech-related discounts at alliance partners and boast customized features, such as better transaction limits. The Bank of Punjab is grateful to its partners MasterCard and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) for their efforts in making this initiative possible.
