Nagad’s Managing Director Tanvir A Mishuk on Tuesday proposed cashless transactions to save billions spent behind printing money.

Every year at least BDT 10,000 crore can be saved if all transactions go cashless moving away from cash usage, he said.

Tanvir made this statement while addressing a discussion titled “Towards Cashless Transaction System” at Jatiya Sangsad Oath Room on Tuesday. The Parliament Secretariat organised the programme for the members of parliament.

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Moderated by Senior Secretary to the Parliament Secretariat KM Abdus Salam, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury attended the function as the chief guest.  

During the discussion, the parliament speaker and a few MPs asked Tanvir A Mishuk about the evolution of Bangladesh’s financial industry and its future journey. 

The Nagad MD said: “The government needs to spend BDT 500 crore every year only on printing cash money. Besides, a Bangladesh Bank study in 2019 showed the country needs about Tk 9,000 crore to manage and supply cash.”

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“There is no alternative to digital or smart transactions in building a smart Bangladesh. So, we have to go in this direction,” he noted.

Addressing the members of Parliament, Tanvir A Mishuk said, “If you give me a particular area or region of the country and provide necessary support, I will make that area a model of cashless transactions.”

“I feel that would be an unimaginable task,” he also said.

Noting that Bangladesh’s GDP has tripled over the last 14 years just because of adopting the Digital Bangladesh Vision, Tanvir A Mishuk, the founder of Nagad, said: “If we go ahead with our vision of becoming a developed country through the establishment of Smart Bangladesh, it will not take much time for our economy to reach a trillion-dollar milestone.”

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Since its inception in 2019, Nagad has digitalised the disbursement system of one after another government allowance over the last four years.

As a result, the government’s costs of stipend disbursements have dropped to a great extent while saving time. Transparency has also been ensured as allowances now go to real beneficiaries, he added.

Tanvir A Mishuk said in the same way, Nagad has also created a buzz by paying education stipends to 1.5 crore primary school children through mobile phones.

Moreover, stipends under the Prime Minister’s Educational Assistance Trust, social security allowances and at least ten other ministries’ allowances and government assistance are also reaching the beneficiaries through Nagad, said Tanvir A Mishuk.

Commenting that the government’s initiative to establish a digital bank is very timely, he said if the digital bank is established, all banking facilities will be on our fingertips.

“Farmers will no longer have to resort to Dadon [a non-institutional financing way, built upon a verbal contract between farmers and money lenders] for only BDT 10,000 to buy fertilisers.”

“They will be able to take loans using mobile phones and repay in the same way with the money earned through sales of their crops, he said.”

In another session of the event, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak discussed the progress of Smart Bangladesh, and Dr Moajjem Golam Hossain, a key expert of the European Union's Government Financial Management Division of Bangladesh, delivered the welcome speech.

The discussion organized by Jatiya Sangsad covered eight issues, allowing members of Parliament to engage with experts from various sectors to explore ways to accelerate the country's development.