e-Pay Punjab, an online payment solution developed jointly by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and the Punjab Finance Department, has now collected over Rs. 80 billion in tax revenue through 15 million transactions.

This was revealed during a progress review meeting conducted on Wednesday at Arfa Software Technology Park. PITB Chairman Asif Balal Lodhi, who presided over the meeting, stated that e-pay Punjab continues to assist citizens by allowing them to pay taxes online through a variety of payment channels.

“E-Pay Punjab’s automation of the online tax payment system has made government collecting easier by making the payments process swift and hassle-free,” he added.

Over 1 million citizens have downloaded the e-Pay Punjab app, according to the meeting. e-Pay Punjab has collected a total of Rs 50.77 billion in lieu of Sales Tax, Rs 11.4 billion in Token Tax, Rs 9 billion in Property Tax, and roughly Rs 3.6 billion in Traffic Challans since it began accepting online payments for 23 taxes/levies for ten different departments.

“E-Pay Punjab’s automation of the online tax payment system has made government collecting easier by making the payments process swift and hassle-free,” he added.

Over 1 million citizens have downloaded the e-Pay Punjab app, according to the meeting. e-Pay Punjab has collected a total of Rs 50.77 billion in lieu of Sales Tax, Rs 11.4 billion in Token Tax, Rs 9 billion in Property Tax, and roughly Rs 3.6 billion in Traffic Challans since it began accepting online payments for 23 taxes/levies for ten different departments.

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vivo becomes a highly relevant brand in Pakistan by fulfilling consumer aspirations with advanced smartphones, enhanced customer care services, local campaigns and jaw dropping innovations under its consumer centric approach

vivo, leading global smartphone brand, has become a popular brand amongst the youngsters across Pakistan in recent years. Renowned as a customer-centric and a youth-oriented brand, vivo strives to empower its audience with meaningful, practical innovation across price points. With 80% of its workforce deployed in research and development, vivo conducts rigorous studies and market surveys to understand consumer behavior and trends to deliver best-suited technologies that address the growing demands of young consumers and make it highly relevant in the local market.

vivo since its inception in 2017 has been focusing on local commitment and penetrating deeper into consumers’ minds and lives to provide customized solutions to enhance their lifestyle. vivo has wholeheartedly extended its support to the country and invested USD 10 million to set up a domestic manufacturing plant in line with the “Made in Pakistan” initiative in 2021 to contribute to the development of the local economy and empowerment of the local workforce and strengthen its footprint in Pakistan. The new facility is spread over 16,000 square-meter, has a production capacity of 6 million smartphones annually which is effectively contributing to the economy of Pakistan while ensuring local employment to diverse age groups.

Enhanced After Sales Service for Seamless Experience

The brand is also making its presence felt for its superior after sales service across the region and continue to serve the people in the best way possible with its enhanced services such as vivo Service Day, and On-call Support facility. vivo also offers attractive deals and local campaigns from time to time for its valuable consumers to show gratitude for their constant support.

vivo’s cutting edge smartphones, and support services are available via a robust offline network of 9203 retail stores, and 16 service centres in the region.

Going “More Local More Global”

Additionally, guided by its ‘More Local, More Global’ strategy, vivo is an inclusive brand that respects local talent, culture, and consumer preferences. The brand closely works with local talents and celebrities such as Babar Azam, Fahad Mustafa, Hania Aamir and many others serving as youth icons in the region under various initiatives such as #GorgeousTransformation for V23 5G that created sound buzz and participation for sharing consumers transformation journey.

Mr. Eric Kong, CEO, vivo Pakistan, said, “Our journey in Pakistan has been very exciting, inspiring and filled with new possibilities to tailor the global advancements for the locals. We at vivo are fortunate to serve our beloved consumers with the best of technologies.

We believe in the Benfen philosophy of doing the right things and thus focus on enriching consumer lives! We will continue to drive consumer-centric innovations, drive local interest and forge a deeper connection with our local audiences. We are really happy with our leading presence in the region. All because of the love and continued trust of our users, we ensure that we will continue to upscale our presence to meet evolving demands of the region. Our V and X Series are highly loved because they are backed by intensive market research and insights to deliver advanced camera solutions in a stylish handset”.

Upping The Product Game

With mobile imaging as one of its strategic tracks, vivo has introduced some of the most notable camera-centric flagship products to market via its premium V series and X series line-ups, setting new benchmarks in the industry with every launch. Widely loved V series include the V20, V21, V23 and V23e which successfully features industry-leading front camera capabilities and stunning outlook, the X series which includes X60 Pro and X70 Pro – both the smartphones have redefined the standards of professional-grade photography.

X Series has proved to be a game changer for professional imaging experience through ground-breaking vivo ZEISS co-engineered imaging system and advanced Gimbal Stabilization. vivo’s Y Series smartphones are the best to fit in all hands across fields in terms of camera, price, storage and much more which makes handset unique in its own way.

Recently, vivo also launched several hot selling products and achieved an important milestone in 2020, with the V20 from V series becoming one of the top 10 most-searched smartphones on Google and in 2021, V23e as per vivo *consumption survey became the people’s best choice smartphone soon after its successful introduction in January 2022 showcasing high public preference during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Whereas X70 Pro instantly became the smartphone of choice for photography enthusiasts, professionals, and power-users which speaks highly about uniquely crafted smartphones setting the foot ahead with advanced innovation delivering outstanding experiences at desirable price points. vivo, being consumers’ preferred smartphone brand in Pakistan, aims to continue upscaling its presence to meet evolving demands of the country.

The post vivo Continues Leadership in Pakistan by Addressing Local Demands appeared first on Techlist.

According to WhatsApp beta news blog WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is beta testing a feature that hides a user’s ‘last seen’ status from specific contacts.

‘Last seen’ on WhatsApp informs other users when someone last opened the app, which might indicate whether they checked it without responding to a message. You can now hide your ‘last seen’ from everyone, but you won’t be able to see anyone else’s. You can also limit who sees ‘last seen’ to just your contacts, but you can’t pick and choose who sees it.

The new functionality will add “My Contacts Except…” to this list, allowing you to restrict who can see your “last seen.” It’s now in beta for iOS and Android, and should be available to all WhatsApp users soon.

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Every person has the right to receive high-quality healthcare. However, 70 percent of Pakistan’s rural population faces issues such as a lack of access to primary healthcare. To close this gap, Xeven Solutions organised a free health camp in a remote community in Bahawalpur, where residents live in poverty and lack access to basic medical care.

Through telemedicine, the “Xeven Gives Back” initiative aimed to offer a communication link for village people with qualified and licenced healthcare specialists.

The team, led by M. Irfan Malik, Founder and CEO of Xeven Solutions, arrived well-prepared with not just their telemedicine solution, but also care packages for the community’s families. “We were astounded to witness people on the point of death from preventable ailments, all owing to inaccessibility and unaffordability,” Malik remarked.

“With just our initial screening utilising telemedicine and integrated point of care devices, we were able to discover common medical conditions in the population such as diabetes, hypertension, and hormone imbalances in females.”

The team’s global clinicians from the UK, US, and UAE delivered real-time video consultations with local healthcare providers and lady health visitors using INNOVA, Xeven’s integrated telemedicine technology. They gathered information from over a hundred patients and directed them to appropriate treatments and referrals.

This is yet another step forward in Xeven’s commitment to providing equitable healthcare. Malik is proud and optimistic that outreach activities like this would help Pakistan move closer to a healthier and safer future.

“With our substantial 15+ years experience and knowledge in the health tech field, we have embarked on a path to reach out to the poor sections of society and assist them,” says Malik.

Xeven Solutions has always been committed to improving community welfare and enriching people’s lives. With over 100 workers and two global offices, Xeven Solutions is one of the fastest growing software solution firms. They’ve created cutting-edge digital solutions for a variety of industries, including education, real estate, and banking, but their expertise lies in healthcare and marketing. With a staff of skilled developers, SMEs, and strategists, they continue to address changing company needs.

The post Xeven Solutions Provides Accessible Care in Cholistan appeared first on Techlist.

The National Information Technology Board (NITB) has agreed to roll out a new version of E-office to all federal government divisions and enterprises under their jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications has suggested a new scheme list for this aim, which includes an E-office replication project for Rs. 350 million throughout all divisions of the federal government (MoITT).

The MoITT has recommended a budget of Rs. 75 million for the E-office Project Phase-II for the coming fiscal year. This project entails a long-term use of the existing E-office as well as the introduction of the new version in all federal government divisions and over 500 hundred departments.

Due to implementation challenges, the project was terminated on June 30, 2021. Only one of the six constituent modules, internal communication, has been implemented, while the remaining components, such as finance and budgeting, human resource, inventory and procurement, project management, and the internal portal, are still missing in all federal government divisions and allied departments.

According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, the federal government spent more than Rs. 2000 million on ICT infrastructure for the project’s implementation.

The previous administration established a group, chaired by the Cabinet Division Secretary, to assess the deployment, readiness, and adaption levels in federal ministries and develop a strategy for moving intra- and inter-ministerial communications to the E-office platform.

The committee met multiple times and presented its findings to the federal government in the form of recommendations. The NITB does not have any permanent or contract staff to carry out the project. Since August 2021, the project’s PC-IV has been in the cabinet division.

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Fasset, a digital asset gateway, has raised $22 million in Series A funding and plans to offer services in Pakistan and Indonesia shortly.

Liberty City Ventures and Fatima Gobi Ventures led the Series A funding round, with participation from Soma Capital, MyAsiaVC, VSV, and others. Regional family offices from the Middle East and South Asia are among the prominent institutional investors, according to the corporation. The funds will be used to develop new products and expand the company’s market. The team is in advanced talks with a number of regulatory bodies and will be launching services in Pakistan and Indonesia soon.

Fasset is preparing to offer digital asset services in Pakistan, and it is expected to receive approval to operate as a full-service cryptocurrency exchange in Indonesia next month. In addition, the company recently received EU approval. According to the announcement, this latest milestone would allow Fasset to connect the worldwide diaspora’s remittance corridors to their home markets.

Fasset’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Raafi Hossain, a former advisor to the UAE Prime Minister’s Office, said:

Fasset is all about connecting home markets to their diaspora through multi-faceted digital asset use cases. We’re passionate about financial inclusion and democratising access to opportunity in our target emerging nations by empowering a new breed of digital asset owners. The most powerful approach to fuel healthy livelihoods and economies is to possess assets. Through unique product solutions that we’re diligently developing, digital asset-driven remittance corridors can unleash a new wave of socioeconomic development. We’re looking forward to collaborating with authorities to facilitate the flow of cash, products, and opportunities in our markets.

Emil Woods, Liberty City Ventures’ Managing Partner, stated: Digital assets, we believe, are increasingly entering the mainstream and have enormous potential to disrupt legacy firms and marketplaces, particularly in emerging nations. We’re excited to work with the Fasset team to seize the opportunities that have arisen and help influence the future of finance.

Fatima Gobi Ventures General Partner Ali Mukhtar stated,

Fasset’s mission of enabling the next billion to gain access to digital assets is quite similar to our approach to investing in the space. We are pleased to assist Fasset in democratising access to this young asset class, and we look forward to assisting the company in its growth markets.

Fasset is a globally regulated digital asset gateway that intends to connect the next billion by allowing them to purchase, sell, send, and store digital assets like bitcoin and real-world asset tokens. Fasset, which is located in the world’s most valuable remittance corridor, gives individuals in frontier markets quick, free, and frictionless access to digital assets, equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to build a brighter future.

The post Crypto Platform Fasset Raises $22M to Expand in Pakistan & Indonesia appeared first on Techlist.

Console video games rarely have advertising, allowing gamers to play a game from beginning to end without being interrupted. Microsoft, on the other hand, intends to change this in the near future.

The corporation may soon incorporate advertisements to games. The Redmond-based software firm is currently on the lookout for advertising firms to assist with the plan’s implementation.

Adverts can be annoying for mobile game players, resulting in unwanted disruptions. Microsoft, on the other hand, does not want to take players out of the game to show adverts; instead, it wants to embed them into the game.

The plan is a “in-world billboard” that corporations may use to promote their products or services. Within the game, the ads will appear as digitally produced billboards. It’s unclear what other formats the advertising could take or whether they’ll feature audio or video.

Microsoft will have to feature titles that support its strategy in order to use this non-intrusive marketing method. The firm is presently looking for similar games to add to their collection.

Microsoft has yet to reveal how it intends to carry out the strategy. Microsoft, according to a spokeswoman, is “always exploring for ways to improve the experience for players and developers.”

Advertisements in-game are slated to debut in the third quarter of this year.

The post Microsoft Wants to Bring Ads to Free-to-Play Xbox Games appeared first on Techlist.

UBL and ABHI have agreed to form a market-first cooperation that would allow UBL Employee Banking account holders to access their earned paychecks before their pay day. End-users will be able to apply for quick credit into their accounts via the UBL Digital App with ABHI’s technology incorporated.

ABHI is a renowned Fintech company that has entered Pakistan with the goal of improving the financial wellness landscape. ABHI was founded in 2021 and was valued at $40 million in just 9 months. Pakistan is their first target market, after which they hope to expand into regional markets.

UBL’s Fintech Accelerator Program assists in identifying and connecting with such aspiring start-ups that have the potential to transform the Digital Finance landscape and people’s lives on a local level.

“This alliance is a huge step towards financial wellness of Pakistan,” stated Omair Ansari, CEO of ABHI, speaking at the event. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible in order to help them achieve financial independence. These kinds of collaborations help us achieve our goals and expand. People who have the ABHI app may now check their salaries, but the same service is now available to those who have the UBL app.”

“This is a promising relationship, aiming at making a difference in our clients’ lives by presenting to them on their finger-tips what they genuinely need,” Sharjeel Shahid, Group Executive Digital Banking – UBL, said during the signing ceremony. UBL is committed to investing in the Fintech sector and will remain at the forefront of this rapidly growing field.”

The post UBL and ABHI Sign Agreement to Launch Market First Getting Salary Before Pay Day appeared first on Techlist.

It has been revealed that telecom cellular firms will put pressure on the government to reverse the rise in withholding tax on telecom services, which has a huge impact on the operators of roughly Rs. 18 billion per year.

It is seen by the industry as harmful to the economy’s digitalization effort and as undermining the aim of a “Digital Pakistan.” Sources in the cellular industry told, once the new ministries of information technology and finance take office, full budget plans will be shared.

In the previous budget, the previous administration set a strategy for the telecom sector, which included lowering the withholding tax from 12.5 percent to 10 percent, with the goal of lowering it to 8% by July 1, 2022. However, in January 2022, the administration overturned its choices.

It has important effects for the telecom sector, according to sources, and the newly elected administration would be asked to decrease the withholding tax.

In Pakistan, only about 2.9 million persons, or one percent of the population, file income tax returns, out of a total population of 220 million. Despite the fact that the majority of the country’s population has non-taxable income, they are subjected to withholding tax, which they are unable to claim.

“To enable investment in the telecom sector, the next government should assure continuity in policies,” the official added.

The post Telcos to Ask Govt For Reversal Of Withholding Tax On Cellular Services In New Budget appeared first on Techlist.

Google Maps is getting a few new features, including the ability to see toll prices before you start travelling to your destination. “We consider things like the cost of a toll pass or other payment options, the day of the week, and how much the toll is likely to cost at the particular moment you’ll be crossing it,” Google wrote in a blog post.

If a toll-free route is available, it will also be displayed as an option. This month, the service will be available on Android and iOS for “almost 2,000” toll roads in the United States, India, Indonesia, and Japan. More countries will get the feature “soon. “Google’s navigation maps are likewise getting more detailed.

“Along your trip, you’ll quickly see traffic lights and stop signs, as well as augmented details like building outlines and points of interest,” the business claims. There will be extra detail such as “the shape and breadth of a road, including medians and islands” in “chosen cities.” These updated maps will be available for Android, Android Auto, iOS, and Apple’s CarPlay software in the “coming weeks.”

Users of Google Maps on Apple devices are also getting some targeted improvements. A new widget for the iOS app will be available in the coming weeks that allows you to access journeys pinned to the Go tab.

You can also use the Google Maps Apple Watch software to receive directions to any of your Google Maps shortcuts, such as Home and Work, by simply tapping the shortcut on your wrist. (Previously, the travels had to be started through the iOS app.) This feature will be available in “a few weeks.”

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