Bangla QR payments to get cheaper, faster for merchants

Bangladesh Bank has announced a series of measures to expand Bangla QR, the country’s interoperable QR payment standard, including lower merchant costs, instant settlement and incentives for financial institutions.

At a press conference at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka yesterday, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said customers of banks and mobile financial services (MFS) providers can now use their mobile apps to scan Bangla QR codes and make payments at around 39 lakh merchant points nationwide.

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On April 1 this year, Bangladesh Bank instructed banks and financial service providers to replace their proprietary QR codes with Bangla QR by June 30 or face penalties.

Following the complete replacement on July 1, the number of transactions has increased 3.5 times, while their total value has risen about fivefold over the past 90 days.

In June 2026, Bangla QR processed a daily average of around 1 lakh transactions worth more than Tk 28 crore. The daily average has since risen to around 3.5 lakh transactions worth Tk 143.54 crore.

To improve pricing, promotion and performance and encourage wider merchant adoption, the central bank has introduced several measures. Starting October 1, merchants will receive proceeds from all Bangla QR payments instantly.

From the same date, the central bank will remove the 1 percent minimum merchant discount rate (MDR) for acquirers and set the interchange reimbursement fee (IRF) for issuers at zero.

MDR is the fee merchants pay to acquirers, while IRF is the fee acquirers pay to issuers.

Bangladesh Bank said the changes would reduce merchant costs and allow banks and MFS providers to offer the service free of charge or at a nominal fee.

Additionally, from October 1, the central bank will provide incentives for Bangla QR payments of up to Tk 2,000 processed through the National Payment Switch Bangladesh. Acquirers will receive incentives of 0.10 percent, while issuers will receive 0.20 percent.

From November 1, customers will also be able to make person-to-person transfers across institutions by scanning another customer’s Bangla QR code or uploading an image of it.

Failed transactions will be refunded immediately or as quickly as possible, the central bank said, referring to its dispute-resolution guidelines issued on September 27. Customers can also report issues through the Bangladesh Bank hotline at 16236.

Meanwhile, an executive committee chaired by the central bank governor and a steering committee comprising representatives from various ministries and divisions are identifying further policy measures to promote digital payments.