Micro businesses can now accept digital payments
In a remote portion of the country, a vegetable vendor wakes up early each morning and would go to the nearest local industry where wholesalers are available.
Throughout the day, he purchases some vegetables by debiting funds from his account. He will pay the wholesalers the full total for his buys utilizing the mobile application of his lender or a mobile fiscal service (MFS) provider.
Then, a few of his clients pay the worthiness of their buys to the vegetable vendor through the use of their mobile wallet while some use cash.
Funds may also be encashed by transferring the required amounts to MFS brokers or merchants beneath the agent banking programme of the central bank.
From now on, such scenarios would turn into a truth in rural areas as Bangladesh Bank yesterday allowed micro and underprivileged businesses to open personal retail accounts.
Such digital banking is now available at stores in cities but was quite impossible in the case of remote rural markets.
The firms, who can submit their trading licence, tax certificate and rent statement, are allowed to wide open merchant accounts in a way that customers can digitally try to make payments for the worthiness of the products.
But micro businesses won't require such records to available their personal retail accounts, according to a central lender notice released yesterday.
They will have to control a certificate on the profession from the local public representative for opening the account.
If such files from public representatives can't be managed, banking institutions, MFS providers and repayment service providers (PSP) must accept certificates from respective professional organisations of the micro businesses.
The central bank, on the other hand, imposed a ceiling on the financial transactions through personal retail accounts.
If micro businesses wide open accounts with banks by fulfilling the full-fledged KYC (Know YOUR VISITORS) requirements, you will have zero limit to transactions.
The monthly fantastic balance cannot cross Tk 10 lakh at the respective accounts if micro businesses open the account by filling an e-KYC.
The central bank allowed clients to open accounts by filling up simplified e-KYCs, where nationwide identification cards must be submitted.
Such accounts could be opened within 5 minutes through agent banking outlets.
"This is a superb initiative taken by the central lender," said Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Lender Asia.
"We have been focusing on the concern for more than several years in a way that digital economical inclusion and branchless banking get yourself a momentum," he said.
The utilization of cash will reduce at a faster pace when the service gains a tempo.
Smartphones are crucial both for clients and micro businesses to stay transactions through the new central bank initiative.
A micro organization will display a quick response (QR) code before the respective stall, and clientele will have to scan the code to make payments for items purchased from the stall.
The worthiness of products could be settled by using the mobile phone application of the respective banks, Ali explained.
Retail businesses may also pay the value of the merchandise to the wholesalers utilizing the mobile app.
Bank Asia will start at least 30,000 personal retail accounts within up coming 12 months and it has recently completed the initial tasks, Ali said.
Micro businesses even will not come to branches because they will be allowed to open up accounts at agent outlets.
Personal retail accounts could be opened coming from MFS providers according to the central bank notice.
A customer will be permitted to open the retail account despite having a preexisting basic MFS account. But MFS brokers will never be permitted to available such accounts.
Officials of MFS companies or perhaps representatives appointed by them will need to supervise and monitor closely even while opening the accounts.
The central bank has imposed ceilings on the financial transactions using MFS accounts.
A micro business will be permitted to take a maximum repayment of Tk 30,000 per day and Tk 5 lakh per month from clients.
There is absolutely no limit on the amount of transactions from a person to retailer.
"The central lender has, in short, taken a time-befitting decision," said Kamal Quadir, ceo of bKash.
The digital programme will put a positive impact on both retailers and clients, he said.
"It will donate to the federal government vision to digitalise the country's monetary sector," Quadir said.
Retail personal accounts can also be opened by using the platforms of payment providers (PSP).
A retailer, who holds this profile with a PSP, will be allowed to transact to the tune of Tk 10 lakh per month.
All stakeholders will have to come ahead to implement the central lender initiative successfully, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Lender.
