Bangladesh will be cashless in 3-4yrs: Joy

Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said if the Awami League gets reelected, it will ensure that every Bangladeshi has a bank account and convert the nation to a fully cashless one.

He asserted that the government has taken a variety of measures to transform Bangladesh into a cashless society.

Joy came up with the remarks while inaugurating Binimoy – an Interoperable Digital Transaction Platform (IDTP) – at the Radisson Blu in the capital on Sunday. The new service will enable money transactions across mobile financial services (MFS) and banks.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam addressed the event as special guests. Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder presided over the session while its Director Mezbaul Haque gave a presentation explaining the features of the platform.

“The IT sector of Bangladesh has evolved. We have transitioned from 2G to 5G very quickly and no one else in the world could make advancements like the way we have, he said while addressing the event.

“Our next target is to make Bangladesh cashless. All citizens will have a bank account and the country will become 100 per cent cashless in the next 3-4 years if Awami League gets reelected,” he said.

He also called on all to use Binimoy as it is a service of the Bangladesh Bank (BB). In recent years, the government has taken steps to make all banks, MFS operators and PSP accounts interoperable, said a press release.

Binimoy will facilitate transactions between consumers, merchants, PSPs, e-wallets, banks, financial institutions, government agencies and private organisations.

Binimoy will make all forms of financial transactions cost-effective, simple and transparent, including the payment of employee wages, the sending of remittances, the payment of taxes/VAT, the payment of utility bills and e-commerce transactions.

Binimoy is a web-based platform that will be integrated as a service into the apps of banks, mobile financial services and payment system providers.

Velwire Limited, Microsoft Bangladesh, and Orion Informatics Limited collaborated on the development of the platform as part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Academy (IDEA) programme of the ICT Division and Bangladesh Bank. Velwire Limited will uphold the responsibilities of Binimoy platform.

Bangladesh Bank in a notice last Thursday issued guidelines regarding the cost of an Interoperable Digital Transaction Platform (IDTP).

As mentioned, sending money from one MFS to another one (such as bKash to Rocket) will cost Tk 5 per Tk 1,000. And sending money from MFS (bKash, Rocket etc.) to the bank will cost Tk 10 per Tk 1,000.

On the other hand, sending money from MFS to Payment Service Provider (PSP) account will cost Tk 5 per Tk 1,000.

It further informed that transactions on the platform will be available from Monday.