Bangladesh moving towards cashless economy: Finance minister

Highlights

• Finance minister urges people to embrace cashless transactions.
• Government aims to build a fully digital ecosystem for all financial services.
• Bangla QR allows interoperable digital payments across banks and MFS providers.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (4 July) called on citizens to embrace cashless transactions as part of the government's efforts to build a fully digital economy.

Speaking as the chief guest at a programme titled 'One Country, One QR: Bangla QR for Payments' organised by Pubali Bank PLC's Principal Office in Chattogram, the minister said the government wants to establish a digital ecosystem all types of transactions - from government services to everyday shopping – can be completed online and in real time.

"We are digitising the entire country. Everything will be online," he said. "This will improve transparency in service delivery, reduce corruption and eliminate the need for people to visit government offices repeatedly to access services."

The minister said digitalisation cannot be implemented partially and that all financial transactions must be brought under a unified digital ecosystem to modernise the economy.

"When the entire system becomes digital, every transaction will leave a record, making economic activities more transparent and efficient," he said.

He said a cashless payment system would eliminate the need to carry cash, even in traditional markets, as people would be able to make payments within seconds by scanning QR codes with their smartphones.

"This will remove the hassle of counting cash, carrying change and handling physical money," he added.

Amir Khosru said younger generations, being more familiar with technology, would adapt quickly to digital payments. Although older citizens might initially find the transition challenging, he said cashless transactions would eventually become the easiest and fastest payment method for everyone.

Referring to global trends, the minister said many advanced economies are rapidly moving towards cashless payment systems. 

Recalling his recent visit to China, he said cash transactions have become increasingly uncommon there, with QR code-based payments now dominating everyday transactions.

Bangladesh is moving in the same direction, he added.

Speakers at the programme said Bangladesh Bank has introduced the interoperable Bangla QR payment system nationwide under its "One Country, One QR" initiative to reduce reliance on cash.

The platform allows customers to make payments by scanning a single QR code using the mobile application of any participating bank or mobile financial service (MFS) provider.

According to the organisers, Bangla QR enables customers to pay bills directly from their bank or MFS accounts without paying any additional charges. The service is being expanded gradually across businesses nationwide in line with Bangladesh Bank's directives.

The programme was chaired by Mohammad Abdur Rahim, general manager of Pubali Bank PLC's Principal Office in Chattogram. Senior officials of the bank, business leaders, prominent citizens and representatives of the print and electronic media also attended the event.