22 unlicensed payment platforms run risky transactions, cenbank seeks shutdown
Currently, 11 PSO companies operate with valid Bangladesh Bank licences.
The Bangladesh Bank has identified 22 online payment aggregators operating without licences and asked the telecom regulator to block their websites and apps, including those listed on the Google Play Store, and permanently shut them down.
The central bank sent a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit yesterday after its Payment Systems Supervision Department identified the firms. The Business Standard has obtained copies of the list and the Bangladesh Bank's letter.
The 22 firms are Bohudur Pay, ZiniPay, PayTiller, BengaliPay, Payora BD, SohojPay BD, EasyPay Way, AK Pay, BD PAY, Shajghar Pay, AsthaPay, UddoktaPay, Walletmix, BTTPay, EasyPay Automation, UniquePay BD, BD AUTO Pay, RH Pay BD, EzePay, Autopay ltd, Biswasto and PipraPay.
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Browsing websites of at least 19 of the firms, TBS found that they offer payment options through bKash, Nagad, Rocket, Bangla QR, and various banks.
Arief Hossain Khan, spokesperson and executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, said the central bank is warning customers about the unlicensed firms and making it clear that it would not bear liability if users are defrauded through them.
"This is also why the Bangladesh Bank has asked the BTRC to block the companies' apps and websites, including their listings on the Google Play Store," he said.
Risks to customers and merchants
A payment aggregator allows businesses, particularly small and medium-sized merchants, to accept multiple forms of digital payments through a single platform instead of maintaining separate technical and commercial arrangements with individual banks and payment networks.
For example, an online retailer can use an aggregator to accept Visa/Mastercard payments, mobile financial services (MFS) like bKash and Nagad, bank transfers and QR payments through a single integration. Such an aggregator must be licensed by the central bank.
The operation of an unauthorised aggregator can expose customers and merchants to financial losses because the firms handle payments and merchant settlements without the regulatory safeguards, oversight, and risk-management requirements imposed on licensed operators.
If an aggregator collects money into its own accounts, funds may become trapped or diverted in cases involving liquidity problems, insolvency, fraud, account freezes or operational failures.
Experts said the risk could be significant because a single aggregator may process payments for thousands of merchants, meaning its failure could leave substantial amounts of customer and merchant funds unsettled.
Limited regulatory oversight
Under Bangladesh Bank regulations, a Payment System Operator (PSO) is a licensed entity that operates payment and settlement infrastructure, with participants required to include a scheduled bank or financial institution. A payment aggregator is a type of PSO that bundles multiple payment channels to enable merchants to accept electronic payments.
Currently, 11 PSO companies operate with valid Bangladesh Bank licences.
A senior Bangladesh Bank official told TBS that the central bank could take action under the law when a licensed entity committed irregularities. "But when an unlicensed entity does so, it becomes very difficult for BB to take proper action, meaning users who are cheated by these platforms have little recourse," he said.
The official further said, "Because these payment systems operate outside BB's oversight, it becomes hard to verify customer identity, prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, monitor transactions, or trace where money comes from and where it goes – the exact protections licensed systems are required to have."
The Bangladesh Bank's investigation found that many of the unlicensed firms used personal MFS numbers instead of proper merchant accounts, thereby bypassing regulatory controls.
The official also said some platforms encouraged users to invest in virtual currencies such as crypto and bitcoin, which are not permitted for transactions under Bangladesh Bank rules, leaving users' money without legal protection.
The central bank's findings also indicated that some of the firms are involved in gambling-related and other illicit activities.
As the firms are unlicensed, the government also cannot collect VAT and tax from them, while the Bangladesh Bank cannot properly monitor the nature of the economic transactions conducted through the platforms.
Calls for investigation
Cybersecurity analyst Tanvir Hassan Zoha said the firms could not legally operate without licences and that the authorities should identify those behind the platforms and their promoters.
He said investigations should determine whether the firms are involved in hundi, money laundering or other criminal activities.
Zoha also called for legal action against the firms, arguing that blocking their websites and apps alone would not be sufficient because the government had lost tax and VAT revenue and user data had ended up in the hands of the firms.
Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communications at bKash, said the MFS provider has no dealings with unlicensed aggregators.
"Even obtaining a licence does not automatically mean that bKash will engage with that organisation. We also scrutinise whether the company is complying with other applicable rules and regulations," he said.
What BB letter says
The Bangladesh Bank said in its official letter that no person, entity or company could operate a payment system or provide payment services without a central bank licence, and that doing so was a punishable offence.
The central bank said such unregulated payment arrangements make customer verification, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing measures, transaction monitoring, and the tracing of the sources and destinations of funds difficult.
According to the Bangladesh Bank's findings, some of the listed entities also facilitated transactions involving bitcoin, ethereum and other virtual assets or currencies, which are not permitted.
The central bank warned that such activity is a punishable offence.
