BB targets 1cr Bangla QR payments each day

Bangladesh Bank (BB) is working to increase digital transactions through Bangla QR to one crore a day by the end of the current fiscal year, BB Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman said yesterday.

“Currently, around one crore transactions are made a month. Our target is to increase that to one crore transactions a day within this fiscal year,” he said at a workshop on Bangla QR transactions in Chattogram.

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The governor said the lack of smartphones and internet access among a large section of the population remains a major challenge. Around six crore people still use feature phones, he said, adding that initiatives are being taken to provide customers with affordable Android smartphones.

Wider use of digital payments would help curb extortion, reduce the risk of counterfeit notes and minimise the risks of carrying cash, Mostaqur said.

Bangladesh spends around Tk 20,000 crore a year on printing money. Greater use of digital payments could help reduce this cost, he added.

The workshop was organised under the Cashless Digital Bangladesh project, which is being implemented through a memorandum of understanding between BB and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Speaking at the event, BB Deputy Governor Md Kabir Ahmed said around 24 lakh merchants currently use Bangla QR, with transactions worth Tk 50 crore made through the system every day.

IFC representative Hasan Shahriar said their initial target was 20 lakh transactions a month, but the number had already reached around one crore.

Around 120 merchants using Bangla QR, including at least 20 women, attended the workshop at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Chattogram.