Day: May 23, 2023

Leading payment systems and solutions provider OMA Emirates Group LLC has paired up with UnionPay International to promote touch payments in the Middle East and Pakistan by developing a Point of Sale (POS) solution ‘SoftPOS’.

SoftPOS is expected to be very cost-effective and secure, transforming NFC-enabled smartphones into POS, thus providing a much-needed touch payment service in line with UnionPay’s digitization strategy.

The tap-to-phone solution would allow consumers to accept payment digitally by tapping the NFC-enabled card or mobile device on the merchant’s NFC-enabled Android smartphone.

Group CEO OMA Emirates Group LLC, Niranj Sangal, commented on the project,

We are very excited to collaborate with UnionPay International in introducing SoftPOS to the Middle East and Pakistan region. We strongly believe this will be a game-changer, especially for SMEs looking for a respite from ever-increasing operational costs. We look forward to further strengthening our position across multiple regions by associating with UnionPay International and offering value-added products and services to our clients.

General manager (Middle East) at UnionPay International, James Yang, stated, “UnionPay International is pleased to partner with OMA Emirates Group LLC in revolutionizing innovative payment methods in the region, and we believe that this solution will help acquirers to scale their POS touchpoints. SoftPOS will enhance the experience for smaller merchants and make digital payment collections simple, reliable, and flexible where conventional POS isn’t feasible due to the high cost of hardware”.

He added, “We are confident that this new solution will allow new category merchants to accept contactless payments in an easy way as customers are moving to digital channels faster than they have in the past”.

Payments made through SoftPOS are expected to be secure as is the case with physical POS terminals. Contactless payment will be seamless for merchants and SMEs to adopt the new system, allowing businesses to deal with cash handling issues and other operational challenges that arise due to the exchange of physical currency/tender/money.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A senior representative of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has said that the textile industry of Sindh and Balochistan is compelled to close their production or operate at 50 percent of their capacity due to a severe shortage of gas supply along with low gas pressure.

In a statement, APTMA’s Southern Zone Chairman Zahid Mazhar said that the industry is facing this issue despite the fact that the government increased the gas tariff in February 2023 by around 30 percent.

He said that the shortage of gas supply to the export-oriented textile industry of Sindh and Balochistan has created havoc, resulting in the closure of a number of industries and a massive decline in the growth of large-scale manufacturing and textile exports. He highlighted that textile exports have declined by 14 percent in the first ten months of the current fiscal year.

Mazhar also highlighted that Sindh and Balochistan are producing around 85 percent of the total natural gas produced in the country. However, they are denied their rights guaranteed under Article 158 of the Constitution.

He demanded that the gas being produced in Sindh and Balochistan should first be supplied to these provinces and after fulfilling the requirement of Sindh and Balochistan the surplus should be supplied to other provinces.

On the contrary, the gas of the two provinces is being supplied to Punjab which is against Article 158, he claimed. He said that the textile industry is not only facing the problem of weekly closure of gas for two days but also facing the problem of low gas pressure throughout the week. This is resulting in heavy production losses, de-industrialization, and unemployment.

Mazhar further said that the gas supply suspension to the Sindh-based industry that contributes 52 percent to the country’s total exports is resulting in a colossal loss of foreign exchange and revenue.

He requested the governments of Sindh and Balochistan to take serious notice of the shortage and low pressure of the gas on an urgent basis and issue instructions to SSGCL to ensure continuous and uninterrupted gas supply to the industry of Sindh and Balochistan in general, and export-oriented sector in particular.

He warned that otherwise more and more industries would be compelled to close their operations which will cause irreparable losses to the economy.

Source: Pro Pakistani