Digital transactions through the universal Bangla QR system have surged sharply over the past 90 days, with average daily transaction value rising from around Tk 28 crore in June to Tk 143.54 crore currently, Bangladesh Bank said Wednesday.
The number of daily transactions has also increased 3.5 times during the period, from around 100,000 in June to nearly 350,000 now.
Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan disclosed the performance metrics during a press briefing at the central bank headquarters on Wednesday.
Senior officials from the Payment Systems Department jointed the briefing.
At present, customers of various banks and Mobile Financial Service (MFS) providers can make payments across nearly 3.9 million (39 lakh) merchant points nationwide by scanning Bangla QR codes through their financial apps.
To accelerate the transition toward a cashless economy, Bangladesh Bank mandated the replacement of all proprietary QR codes with the universal Bangla QR framework on July 1.
New Facilities Effective October 1
To further boost adoption, several new incentives and operational changes will take effect on October 1.
Under the revised guidelines, payments made via Bangla QR will be credited to merchants' accounts instantly.
Additionally, the central bank has abolished the minimum 1 percent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for acquiring institutions and set the Interchange Fee (IRF) for issuing institutions at zero percent.
This policy shift is designed to significantly lower transaction costs for merchants, allowing banks and MFS providers to offer Bangla QR services at nominal fees or free of charge.
Furthermore, Bangladesh Bank will provide a financial incentive of 0.10 percent to acquiring institutions and 0.20 percent to issuing institutions on Bangla QR merchant transactions up to Tk 2,000.
P2P Transfers from November 1
To expand the operational scope of Bangla QR, Person-to-Person (P2P) inter-institutional transactions will launch on November 1.
Under this system, individual customers can transfer funds directly to another individual by scanning a QR code or uploading a saved QR code image into their payment app.
Addressing transaction failures, Bangladesh Bank has also strengthened mechanisms for swift refunds.
The central bank issued detailed guidelines on September 27 to ensure transparent and rapid resolution of transaction disputes.
Customers experiencing issues with Bangla QR transactions can lodge complaints directly via the Bangladesh Bank hotline at 16236.