PSO's subsidiary, Cerisma, receives preliminary approval for EMI license

Morning! Gmail turned 20 yesterday and yes, it was launched on April Fool's Day. But it's been anything but a joke.

When Gmail first launched 20 years ago, many thought it was a prank. It promised 1 gigabyte of storage at a time when 15 megabytes was the norm. Plus, it claimed to be completely free, which was unheard of in a world where you had to pay for your inbox. And the date of the launch didn’t help in taking it seriously.

But when real invites to Gmail's beta version started rolling out, they became popular among whom we now call ‘tech bros’. An anecdote at the time said “At my nerdy high school, having Gmail was your fastest ticket to the cool kids’ table. I remember trying to track one down for myself. I didn’t know whether I actually needed Gmail, just that all my classmates said Gmail would change my life forever.” You can read Google’s memo on its launch date of 1st April 2004 here.

P.S. Wishing a belated Happy Easter to those who celebrated 💐

In this week’s edition:

💡 Where Info Meets Inspo: Mahnum Tahir from Mercedes Benz

💳 Visa, MasterCard to bend the knee (for once)

💵 Why you might’ve noticed some extra rupees in your bank account this March

👾 Israel making use of its dominance in tech

⛽ Oil money goes digital

- The Itla Squad 💼

Itla Careers

Where Info Meets Inspo with Mahnum Tahir 💡 

Where Info Meets Inspo is an Itla segment where we highlight professionals who work within the tech and business realm - in Pakistan or abroad. Hit reply if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you explain your job to someone with no exposure to your field?

I work as an HR Business Partner. if I have to describe my job in layman terms I’d say......I am the first HR point of contact for the functions and managers I work with. HR business partners then work with teams, managers and key stakeholders to help build organization and people capability, and shape and implement effective people strategies and activities within the organization. From day to day, this could look like various things, like working on a managerial training, crafting employee engagement initiatives for the company, ensuring all compensation (payroll) is sorted for employees, working on a new HR policy, supporting Managers with recruiting and much more! it’s a 360 kind of role - you get to do a little bit of everything in the HR universe so no two days are the same 🙂 

What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on?

Oh this is a tough one! I feel like I’ve worked on so many cool things. Back during COVID, I was part of a team, responsible for delivering our company’s flagship recruitment competition but had to pull of an all-virtual version for the first time considering the social distancing challenges - it involved working with an agency to bring it all to life - digitally! I’ve also been the lead for employee engagement teams for two companies I’ve worked with now - it’s amazing to see how you can light up your fellow colleagues with a fun or meaningful initiative. Another example is getting to conduct focus groups with females from specific male-dominated teams and trying to put together an action plan to build and support diversity. Apart from this, I’ve also gotten the chance to moderate talks with some really inspiring senior leaders. It’s always a privilege to learn from people who’ve had pretty awesome careers.

What’s your favorite tech/business-related media you read/watch/listen to?

I love listening to podcasts - and how it makes you feel like you are part of a real conversation taking place. I think it’s great to hear from thought leaders from various industries and topics. Some recent ones I have enjoyed are the Diary of a CEO and On Purpose with Jay Shetty. I have also had my phase enjoying shows like Shark Tank and the Apprentice – both not the most intellectual but can show you glimpses of what it takes to build an entrepreneurial mindset.

Business

Global 🌎️

Why girl math might need some updates

The recent deal between Visa and Mastercard, valued at $30 billion, aims to tackle a long-standing issue: the high fees merchants pay when you use your credit or debit card. This deal has been in the works since 2005 and could potentially bring relief to businesses across the United States. But what exactly does it mean for American consumers?

Main takeaways:

• Every time you swipe your card, stores pay a fee to Visa or Mastercard (1.5% to 3.5% per swipe), which eats into their profits and can lead to higher prices for us. But now, Visa and Mastercard are cutting these fees for a while, potentially lowering prices. They'll reduce fees for a few years and keep them lower for longer.

• They're also letting businesses decide if they want to offer discounts or charge extra for certain cards, giving them more control over costs and pricing strategies.

• While lower swipe fees might sound great, it's a bit more complicated. Some stores might start charging extra if you use certain types of cards. On the flip side, you might get discounts if you use a card the store prefers. So, it could affect how you choose to pay for things.

Way forward: Before anything happens, a court needs to approve this deal. But not everyone is thrilled about this deal as some big businesses think it's not enough to make a real difference. And there are concerns about whether it's fair for everyone involved, including consumers like us.

TLDR: Visa and Mastercard's $30 billion deal aims to lower fees for merchants when customers use cards. Businesses can choose to offer discounts or extra charges. However, its impact on consumers remains uncertain, pending court approval.

What else is new in news

✶ What’s the opposite of ‘glow-up’? That’s what China is going through now as it’s focusing on attracting investment instead of expanding overseas like it usually does. This change shows a shift in the China-U.S. relationship, with companies being more careful. President Xi Jinping is meeting with CEOs to encourage investment, but foreign investment in China is down due to economic challenges and security concerns in the country.

Local 🇵🇰

Why you might have noticed some extra rupees in your bank account in March

If you are feeling proud of yourself for seeing some extra rupees in your bank account in March, you might have to thank the low inflation rate.

In March, Pakistan experienced a significant drop in inflation rates, reaching the lowest level in almost two years which is 20.7%, reported by The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This surprised the government and raised questions about the central bank's decision to keep interest rates very high.

Main takeaways:

• Inflation has been slowing down for the past three months, even though some foods got more expensive due to the season. However, things like electricity, gas, petrol, and food have been getting more expensive, making life harder for people.

• The central bank has kept interest rates very high, even though inflation is not as bad as before. This high rate is making it expensive for the government to borrow money.

• Businesses are struggling because of these high interest rates, and the economy is not growing much. The government has borrowed a lot of money, making things worse.

• The value of Pakistani money compared to the dollar has stayed about the same, thanks to the central bank buying dollars.

Way forward: Experts say that the government should rethink its decision to keep interest rates so high and also work on making sure that the low inflation rates are reflected in electricity and food prices too.

TLDR: March witnessed a significant decrease in Pakistan's inflation rate, hitting a two-year low of 20.7%. While overall inflation slowed, essential items like electricity and food continued to rise in price. The government's heavy borrowing at high interest rates has limited economic growth, despite efforts to stabilize the rupee against the dollar.

News Flash

✶ In a classic Pakistani government move, authorities have announced an early Eid gift for citizens: a hike in petrol prices by up to Rs9.66 per liter for the next 15 days. However, they've reduced the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.32 per liter. So now, petrol costs Rs289.41 per liter, while HSD is priced at Rs282.24 per liter.

Tech

Global 🌎️

Israel is making use of its dominance in tech (and not in a good way, ofc)

Israel is using a large-scale facial recognition program in Gaza, collecting info on Palestinians without asking them, according to a report by The New York Times. They're using tech from Corsight, an Israeli company, and Google Photos.

Main takeaways:

• Israel's military is using different ways to watch Palestinians, like security cameras, social media videos uploaded by Hamas, and even input from Palestinian prisoners, to identify individuals affiliated with Hamas. They've also set up checkpoints with facial recognition cameras on major roads used by Palestinians to leave.

• They're using Corsight's facial recognition tech, which claims it can ID people even if you can't see their whole face. They're also using Google Photos to find people, even with just a little bit of their face showing.

• Sometimes, Corsight's tech gets it wrong. A Palestinian poet, Mosab Abu Toha, got stopped by mistake because of it. This shows the dangers of relying too much on this kind of tech.

• Corsight's bosses support Israel in Gaza, and some hospitals in Israel use their tech for patients. But Google's parent company isn't happy about Google Photos being used this way (we’ll have to see if they’re gonna do anything about it).

Way forward: Experts say that there is a need for increased transparency and accountability regarding the use of facial recognition technology in war zones like Gaza. Also, discussions on private companies working with the military and its ethical implications have been highlighted as well.

TLDR: Israel is using facial recognition in Gaza without asking Palestinians. They're using tech from Corsight and Google Photos to watch them. The military is looking at security cameras, social media, and even asking prisoners to find Hamas members.

What else is new in news

✶ In our recent edition, we talked about how the U.S. government filed a lawsuit against Apple. This lawsuit could make big changes to how we use our iPhones. This article details what it would look like. But whether this lawsuit is good or bad depends on how you like to use your iPhone. If you want more options and flexibility within iPhone like for messaging or payments, you might be cheering for the government. But if you're happy with how things are, you might be on Apple's side.

Local 🇵🇰 

Oil money goes digital

The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has gotten the green light from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to start Cerisma Pvt Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of PSO, to establish an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) which is a license for handling digital money. This move is part of PSO's plan to explore new areas beyond its traditional oil business, which includes plans for digital wallets and venture capital investments.

Main takeaways:

• It aims to develop e-wallets for both consumers and merchants. Cerisma is the 13th company approved by the SBP as an EMI. But not all previous companies have succeeded; some had their licenses taken away or decided not to continue.

• PSO wants to use its network of gas stations as point-of-sale functions across Pakistan to offer digital money services. They think this will help them meet the changing needs of customers and find new business opportunities.

• Cerisma aims to help PSO handle its money better and offer more digital services to its customers. This means PSO can move money around more efficiently and offer new digital services to its customers.

Way forward: With Cerisma entering the digital money market, there will be more companies offering similar services. But how well Cerisma and others do will depend on how well they are led and how they work with their parent companies.

TLDR: Pakistan State Oil's subsidiary, Cerisma Pvt Ltd, has received approval from the State Bank of Pakistan to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), allowing it to handle digital money. This move reflects PSO's diversification strategy, aiming to offer e-wallets for consumers and merchants utilizing its extensive gas station network.

Tech tour of news

✶Pakistan's Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) approved the Cloud Procurement Framework (CPF) which means that Pakistan now can buy cloud services more easily.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

🎤 We thought Kanan Gill’s recent standup comedy "Is this it?" would be a nice casual watch while we eat our dinner. But the show’s emotional depth while being hilarious made it anything but casual. The best part? You can watch it on Youtube for free.