To combat the potential spread of COVID-19 pandemic by limiting person-to-person interaction and to provide ease of services to the customers, State Bank of Pakistan has said that commercial banks may allow corporate and priority customers to use scanned images of cheques along with relevant details of the beneficiary either through registered emails or through mobile Apps of their banks, to push funds from their accounts to the payee bank.
However, such an arrangement must be duly agreed with the customer under proper terms and conditions along with complete disclosure of risks and liabilities.
The Paying/Drawee bank shall implement all necessary controls including call back confirmation or multifactor authentication to ascertain the authenticity and genuineness of the instrument and identity of the payee. Upon satisfactory validation, the paying/drawee bank may transfer funds to the beneficiary bank using MT 102 of RTGS (PRISM).
SBP further said that banks should also implement ad..
Category: Defense
Supply Chains of Essential Items Will Not be Disrupted: Asad Umar
Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a video conference to review the situation and consider proposals relating to the management of supply chains of essential commodities, during the partial or complete shutdown in various parts of the country.
The meeting discussed proposals for ensuring the continued operation of various industries, especially those included in the food and medicine supply chains, during the Covid-19 emergency. Matters related to the continued supply of electric power and petroleum products were also discussed.
It was decided that detailed safety guidelines for the workers will be outlined for those industries, which are required to be kept operational to ensure the supply of essential commodities. The guidelines will be implemented in collaboration with industry associations.
The meeting directed the Ministry of Industries to closely monitor any issues faced by the industries identified for continued operation and address the..
Facebook Launches Coronavirus Hub for Messenger
Social media giants are coming together to fight against the spread of coronavirus and misinformation on their platforms. Facebook had placed a coronavirus information hub on Instagram first and now they’re bringing it to their Messenger app as well.
The Coronavirus Community Hub is aimed at providing tips, authoritative information, and other resources to help stay connected and informed and curb the spread of the virus. It is also aimed at stopping the spread of misinformation that has become common on the platform amidst the outbreak.
It provides details from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF for reliable resources.
The news comes weeks after Facebook launched a similar hub on WhatsApp and Instagram. It comes at an opportune time as people are now using the platform for instant messaging and voice calling more than ever to a point where all the traffic is becoming difficult for Facebook to handle.
The social netw..
Credit Card Customers Are Struggling To Clear Payments on Time
Coronavirus has wreaked havoc all around the world. The pandemic has triggered a major economic crisis that will burden our societies for years to come.
Bank customers that own credit cards are struggling to make their due payments in the wake of multiple issues with online payments.
A majority of credit card users are avoiding visiting branches but are trying to use digital banking channels for the payments against the credit they used within the deadline.
A credit card user of Standard Chartered was unable to pay his bill through Askari Online banking. When contacted, Standard Chartered bank stated that there was no such problem in their system. If the issue is not fixed, the customer of this bank is likely to pay extra charges on the account of markup and financial charges.
Banks in Pakistan usually give a maximum of 20 days to avoid markup to their customers with some banks giving 15 days.
A section of customers who did not receive their salaries or got laid-off by their emplo..
Tencent and Huawei are Launching a Cloud Gaming Service Soon
There has been a boom in popularity of cloud gaming with Google Stadia, Geforce Now, Project xCloud and a number of others joining the fray and eliminating the need for having a powerful gaming PC or console.
Chinese tech giants Huawei and Tencent are now working together to enter the cloud gaming market as well according to Tencent, one of the world’s biggest game companies.
Additionally, the statement mentions that the collaboration between the two will involve tapping into Huawei’s Kunpeng processor to work with Tencent’s cloud gaming platform known as GameMatrix. The two brands will also explore the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence and other technologies for augmented reality (AR) based gaming.
Huawei’s hardware expertise combined with Tencent’s experience in the gaming industry will make for a formidable partnership that could give the competition a run for its money.
GameMatrix will debut in China first and will likely stay exclusive to the region for a while..
Xiaomi Announces Mi 10 Lite 5G With 48 MP Quad Cameras & Liquid Cooling
Xiaomi announced the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro flagship phones last month and after a small delay, they’ve now announced an affordable version of the premium devices.
Along with toned-down specs, the Mi 10 Lite 5G also changes up the design formula we saw on the Mi 10 duo with a standard waterdrop notch at the front and a square-shaped camera module at the back.
Design and Display The Mi 10 Lite 5G has a slightly smaller 6.57-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. Unlike the Mi 10 and the Mi 10 Pro, the Mi 10 Lite has a waterdrop notch for the front-facing camera and a slightly bigger bottom bezel.
The back has a square-shaped quad-camera setup in the top left corner with a dual-LED flash unit and an in-display fingerprint reader.
Internals and Storage On the inside, the Mi 10 Lite is powered by the gaming-oriented Snapdragon 765G with liquid cooling. Xiaomi hasn’t stated the device’s RAM, but storage options include 64GB and 128GB UFS 2.1. The RAM opt..
Here’s How Pakistan’s Banking Industry Performed in 2019
2019 was a unique year for the banking sector which not only provided different opportunities to the commercial banks but some challenges as well.
Some of the banks succeeded in cashing on the window of opportunity and embraced the challenges whereas other banks could not utilize the available options, facing different hurdles.
These all reflect on their profitability, resulting in the ranking of the banks varying in terms of their profits with the competition among them becoming more intensified in 2020.
The imposition of Super Tax on commercial banks ate up a big amount on the balance sheet of the banks in 2019. On the other hand, they got a lucrative opportunity to invest in government papers.
High-interest rates have proven to be a double-edged sword as they made huge money from the interest income, but the borrowings of the private sector have decreased as well. Some of the banks are trying to deal with specific issues whereas a few of them minted money from specific advantage..
Government Exempts Local NGOs From Signing MoU With EAD for Foreign Economic Assistance
The EAD has issued an office memorandum stated that in pursuance of powers conferred under clause-11 of Policy for Regulation of Organizations Receiving Foreign Contributions 2013, the Government of Pakistan has exempted local NGOs from signing of MoU with EAD to utilize foreign economic assistance, for a period not exceeding six (06) months with immediate effect.
This exemption will be applicable only to specific NGOs that have applied to the Economic Affairs Division for permission/signing of MoU. According to EAD, there are 92 NGOs whose documents are completed and have been circulated to stakeholders. Further, the same number of NGOs has signed MoUs with EAD so far.
According to the MoU draft which was required earlier for the NGOs to be signed with EAD and is now waived off, the government may allow NGOs to receive foreign contributions including funds, materials, and services, emanating from declared sources, through legal channels, subject to reporting requirements.
Further t..
Initiatives by Telecom Operators to Facilitate Customers During The Coronavirus Pandemic
In light of the present COVID-19 pandemic, telecom operators have been undertaking many initiatives to facilitate their subscribers across Pakistan and to provide them with awareness about Coronavirus & uninterrupted services.
In this context, on Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)’s directions, SMS on precautionary measures against COVID-19 in national & regional languages are being sent to all mobile subscribers on a regular basis. Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) have replaced their standard ring back tone (heard by caller when a call is being made) with messages about COVID-19 preventive measures.
New packages/offers (by giving additional data and on-net voice minutes) at low prices have been launched by all CMOs to facilitate people to stay and work from home (details are available at operators and PTA’s websites).
Other initiatives include the abolishment of balance validity period by Jazz and extension in balance validity period by Zong, free Whatsapp and balance share..
Infinix Unveils S5 Pro With a 40MP Pop-up Selfie Camera
Infinix is back with another fantastic cell phone that is sure to become a crowd favorite. Infinix S5 Pro will be launched in Pakistan in the next couple of weeks, after being officially announced.
The S5 Pro comes with a lot of cool specs, but let’s talk about an essential aspect of a phone. A smartphone needs to have a brilliant camera that can capture the important moments in our lives. The phone has a 48 MP primary camera and 40 MP Pop-up selfie shooter. It will be available in two variants 6GB/128 GB for Rs. 26,999, while the 4GB/64GB variant will come in at Rs. 22,999.
The S5 Pro has a 48 MP primary camera which is, f/1.8, (wide), 1/2.0”, 0.8µm, PDAF and has a 2 MP depth sensor. It is also equipped with a QVGA low light camera sensor that will pick up on the brightness of your surroundings and brighten up your dark images instantly. It also includes a Dual-LED flashlight, High Definition Resolution, and panorama shots.
The phone runs on Android 10 and is powered by an Octa-cor..
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