Financial services ease hassles
Four commercial banks and a leading mobile financial service provider are taking part in this year's Dhaka International Trade Fair to serve the visitors of the annual showcase.
They are: two state-run banks Sonali and Janata, two private banks Islami Bank Bangladesh and Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) and bKash.
Sonali Bank is collecting value-added tax on behalf of the government at the fair, said Md Nurul Islam, the bank's general manager of the principal branch.
Corporate clients and others deposit Tk 10 lakh as value-added tax on an average every day through the branch at the fair, Islam said.
Sonali Bank does not make any profit from participating in the fair; rather every time it spends around Tk 8.5 lakh to Tk 10 lakh on the occasion of the event, he said.
Janata Bank is offering all kinds of banking services, including fund deposits and withdrawal from its ATM booths, said Md Shoykot Hasan, a senior officer of the bank and in-charge of the temporary branch at the fair venue.
The bank has joined the show with a view to brightening its brand image by way of providing digital services and secured transaction to clients, he said.
“Nineteen officials of the bank are providing services in three shifts. It receives around Tk 50 lakh in deposits on an average every day during the month-long expo. The amount rises on Fridays and Saturdays.”
Clients can receive banking services without any fear as an adequate number of security personnel has been deployed at the fair, Hasan said.
Md Shajahan Ali, a senior official and branch in-charge of DBBL, said the bank is providing all kinds of banking services, including opening of bank accounts, opening of accounts of its mobile financial service Rocket, fund deposits and withdrawals.
DBBL has set up five ATM booths so that consumers can withdraw money from there, he said.
The private commercial bank has established over 100 points of sale machines for the corporate clients at the fair to give a boost to cashless transaction.
The bank's daily cash deposit collection hovers between Tk 70 lakh to Tk 1 crore during the trade show, according to Ali.
The stall of Islami Bank at the fair was equipped with the information only on the lender's products and services. The financial institution is not providing any banking services there.
bKash, the largest mobile financial service provider in Bangladesh, is offering cash back to customers on the occasion of the showcase.
Customers are enjoying 50 percent cash back on the prices of entry ticket brought through the app or the USSD channel *247# of bKash or through DITF's online portal.
However, entry to the venue will be free for those opening bKash accounts on the fair premises. Entry fee is Tk 30 per person.
Customers can get up to 15 percent instant cash back if they make payments through bKash app and up to 5 percent instant cash back for paying through USSD channel at selected merchant pavilions or stalls.
The maximum cash back limit for a customer on entry ticket purchase is Tk 30 a day and Tk 60 during the month-long fair period.
Customers will get a maximum of Tk 500 cash back on payment through bKash app and Tk 250 cash back on payment through the USSD channel.
