Interoperable payment system not successful yet: BB governor
The Bangladesh Bank introduced the long-awaited interoperable payment system on 1 November, but most institutions have not adopted it.
Bangladesh Bank's interoperable payment system has not been successful so far, as many institutions are yet to join the platform, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur.
"Although the interoperable system has been launched, it has not been successful because many institutions are not conducting transactions through it," said the governor at a programme titled "Instant Payment in Bangladesh: Unveiling Inclusion Opportunities" held at a hotel in Dhaka today (24 November).
Notably, Bangladesh Bank launched the interoperable payment system on 1 November, but most institutions have not adopted it.
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"Bangladesh Bank is going to introduce another new Instant Payment Platform in collaboration with the Gates Foundation. Through this platform, all transactions can be made cashless," said Ahsan H Mansur.
"We must transform our entire transaction ecosystem into a cashless one. Banks, MFS operators, agent banking and financial institutions everyone must be brought under a single channel. The plan is to launch it by July 2027," he added.
The Bangladesh Bank introduced the long-awaited interoperable payment system on 1 November.
The interoperable system allows instant transfers from mobile wallets, bank accounts, non-bank accounts, or institutional accounts directly to any other account.
On the first day of Bangladesh's interoperable payment system, nine financial institutions – including four mobile financial service (MFS) providers, four banks, and one payment service provider (PSP) – processed transactions worth a total of Tk940 today (2 November).
The participating institutions were Islami Bank Bangladesh, Islami Bank's mCash, Islamic Wallet, Mutual Trust Bank, Rocket, bKash, TallyKhata, Pubali Bank, and Premier Bank.
Among them, bKash recorded the highest number of incoming transactions at 37. However, the platform has yet to enable outgoing transactions. This means bKash can receive funds via the interoperable system, but users cannot send money from bKash to other platforms.
Besides, Nagad, the second-largest MFS operator, was excluded from the interoperability system by Bangladesh Bank.
Nagad, which has been operating under Bangladesh Bank's administration since August last year after the regime change, was excluded on the grounds of not holding a licence.
