The absence of Stripe and PayPal, digital payment processing platforms, has hindered the progress of Instagram and Facebook (Meta) monetization in Papua New Guinea, says a senior Government official.
Stripe and PayPal are both popular payment processing platforms that help businesses accept payments online and in-person.
The Secretary for the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (DICT) Steven Matainaho in a Facebook post said last night: “Meta informed the PNG delegation that, as part of the process to enable monetization, the country must assess its digital payment infrastructure to ensure that payment systems such as Stripe and PayPal are available.”
This is now in the remit and mandate of the Bank of Papua New Guinea to look into, Secretary Matainaho said.
He said he understands that the Bank of Papua New Guinea is already reviewing the matter from a policy and infrastructure perspective.
“While looking into this requirement, we will push for a follow-up online meeting to confirm additional requirements and will update accordingly,” Mr Matainaho said in a Facebook update.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders as discussions with Meta progress, he said.
The Government of Papua New Guinea, he said, is continuing efforts to enable monetization programs on Facebook and Instagram, following a high-level engagement with Meta late last year.
On 11 December 2025, the Acting Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Hon. Peter Tsiamalili, initiated an intentional visit to the Meta office in Sydney to aggressively push the agenda of enabling monetization programs on Facebook and Instagram.