Nagad Digital Bank, the first full-fledged digital bank in Bangladesh, is all set to transform the local banking landscape. It aims to replace traditional physical interactions and paperwork with a comprehensive array of customer-centric services. This transformation will streamline services and promote financial inclusion, fostering an integrated financial ecosystem. “Our motto is to bring unparalleled banking convenience to the fingertips of millions,” said Tanvir A Mishuk, Nagad’s founder and managing director, during an interview with UNB. “Nagad Digital Bank will redefine how people interact with their finances, emphasizing accessibility, security, and customer support. We’re ushering in a new era of inclusive and convenient banking,” he said. Read more: Nagad became a billion-dollar company in just 3 years, 5 more Bangladeshi unicorns by 2025: Palak  “We will operate without physical branches, having only a head office and a call center for customer support. Our services will be delivered through our website and mobile app, enabling financial transactions similar to those in a traditional bank branch,” the Nagad MD said. Mishuk  explained that customers would be able to perform many of the same services offered in physical branches, such as opening accounts, checking balances, transferring money, paying bills, applying for loans, and more. “To meet the financial needs of individuals and small businesses, we will introduce digital lending. This will disrupt our financial industry,” he highlighted. By leveraging data on customer transactions and financial behavior, Nagad Digital Bank will offer personalized credit solutions, making borrowing more accessible, he said. The digital bank plans to offer single-digit, collateral-free loans for small informal businesses and farmers, who currently rely on moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates. “To assess creditworthiness, we’ve developed an AI-based credit rating system. This system evaluates a loan seeker’s transaction data, using their National ID (NID) and mobile number, to instantly disburse loans. All will be done using Nagad’s app, eliminating paperwork and the need to visit bank branches. This will bring the informal sector’s money into the formal channel,” Mishuk said. Read more: Nagad becomes Bangladesh’s fastest unicorn Regarding cost-effectiveness, Mishuk mentioned that the digital bank will have lower operating expenses than traditional banks due to the lack of physical infrastructure. This reliance on technology will result in lower charges and interest rates for customers. Promoting financial inclusion is another key focus. Nagad Digital Bank aims to extend its reach to unbanked and underbanked populations. “Our user-friendly mobile app will act as a gateway to financial services for these marginalized people, enabling them to save, transact, and invest without a traditional bank account,” he added. “We will also give utmost priority to security and trust. We are committed to ensuring the highest standards and have already enhanced our cybersecurity measures to safeguard users’ data and transactions. “All our initiatives are strategically designed to promote the adoption of cashless transactions nationwide. This effort aligns with our government’s goal of achieving 75 percent digital transactions across the country by 2027,” he noted. “By advancing towards this target, we contribute to the vision of establishing a Smart Bangladesh by 2041, fostering a technologically advanced and digitally inclusive nation,” Tanvir A Mishuk said. Read more: Students of XI can pay college admission fees thru’ Nagad

Binimoy, an interoperable digital transaction platform, will be launched Sunday and transactions through it will be available from the next day. Prime Minister's ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy will inaugurate the breakthrough platform. Governor of Bangladesh Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder will preside over the session. In recent years, the government took steps to make all banks, mobile financial services, and PSP accounts interoperable. Read: Youths will take Bangladesh forward with merit, hard work and patriotism: Sajeeb Wazed It will facilitate transactions between consumers, merchants, PSPs, e-wallets, banks, financial institutions, government agencies, and private organizations, said a media statement on Saturday. Binimoy will make all forms of financial transactions cost-effective, simple, and transparent, including the payment of employee wages, the sending of remittances, the payment of taxes/VAT, the payment of utility bills, and e-commerce transactions. The web-based platform will be integrated as a service into the apps of banks, mobile financial services, and payment system providers. Read: Young Bangla celebrates the power of changemakers at the grassroots Velwire, Microsoft Bangladesh, and Orion Informatics collaborated on the development of the platform as part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Academy (IDEA) programme of the ICT Division and the Bangladesh Bank. Velwire will uphold the responsibilities of Binimoy. Bangladesh Bank in a notice Thursday issued guidelines regarding the cost of the interoperable digital transaction platform.    

One of the key challenges faced by the start-ups in Bangladesh is regarding the payment gateway. As an emerging market for tech start-ups and Fintech organizations, the lack of accessibility to a secured channel of the transaction is a concerning issue. In both securing funds and operating a multi-point transaction system, access to a secured globally accepted transaction model is an integral part to develop the financial aspect of any start-up. To this end, Visa Digital Payments brought forward exciting programs to assist the start-ups in their financial operations. What is Fintech? Fintech stands for Financial Technology. Simply put, it is the process of incorporating technology in the financial processes of organizations to digitize transactions. Initially, Fintech was limited to the back-end use of financial institutions to develop the infrastructure of the banking system. The core focus was to develop the service at the back end to offer efficiency to the client at the front end. However, with advancement in the field and tech becoming more and more accessible to people, Fintech took a front-end position as well. Now, Fintech is widely used in various banking processes and is directly available to the customer as credit cards, debit cards, or instant wire transfers even. Read Fintech MFS: Best Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh The horizon of Fintech, however, isn’t limited to the banking sector alone. With more and more diversification, Fintech has seen prospects in the mobile banking sector, cryptocurrency, and stock exchange as well. Stocks have now become more accessible to people through app-based transactions which are all entailed by Fintech. Financial Scenario and Constraints Facing Start-ups In the present context of Bangladesh, start-ups and Fintech organizations require an omnichannel transaction support system for their businesses. Even though cash is still one of the primary bases of the transaction, there is a huge interest in digital payment scenarios as well. The claim is further backed up by the popularity of bKash, a mobile banking platform powered by Fintech under BRAC Bank. With over 45 million BDT worth of transactions per day and over 22% of all adults of Bangladesh being its user, the popularity of the platform is on the rise for a considerable time now. Read 20 Most Promising Education Start-Ups in Bangladesh This growth trajectory will only continue as more and more start-ups are promoting digital transactions on their platform. Start-ups like Pathao, Foodpanda, and Shohoz offer discounts and cashback offers in various digital payment methods. As more and more people get access to the internet, digital payment platform seems to be the future of monetary transactions. However, there is still a lack of innovation when it comes to developing the Fintech scenario in Bangladesh. With more than 1700 digital start-ups in Bangladesh, the digitization process is far from the optimum level and the few stories of Fintech integration cannot be considered as the mean value. There is still a lot to develop in the merchant ecosystem as well as client end facilities. As start-ups in Bangladesh are focusing on the digitization of their platforms, the issues pertaining to the ease of access of the payment channels as well as digitizing currencies remain a burning issue and unexplored opportunities for the start-ups. Read The SWAP story of Bangladesh's first reCommerce startup What does Visa’s Initiative mean for Startups? Visa is probably the largest singular body when it comes to digital transactions. They are not only the leader across all the countries of the world but also one of the most secure platforms and channel operators when it comes to online transactions. Visa recognizes Bangladesh as one of the top emerging markets for tech start-ups and Fintech solutions. However, the company also realizes the lack of ease of business as automation and innovation are still in the nascent stage when it comes to leveraging the full potential of digital payment scopes. To that end, Visa has designed a 12-part webinar for the start-ups and Fintech in Bangladesh to better communicate the service and innovation Visa offers. The entire webinar is divided into three parts – Visa Connect, Mentorship Series, and Thought Leadership series. Basically, Visa aims to introduce up-and-coming start-ups and Fintech with the cutting-edge technology offered by Visa. Read: Sofol App from iFarmer: A Revolution Towards the Agriculture Digitization The mentorship program will focus on Visa’s approach in alleviating the Fintech experience for the clients as well as develop processes in the merchant end as well all the while maintaining efficiency and security. The leadership thought series will see Visa work closely with the start-ups to innovate processes to better suit the market of Bangladesh and understand the best means of digitizing transactions. Visa is working in collaboration with Start-up Dhaka for the project. The country director of Visa for this region, Soumya Basu feels that this is an excellent opportunity for the start-ups to learn about digital transaction systems from a company that has pioneered the platform itself. He also feels that it will create new opportunities for businesses as they perfect their financial modelling and diversify their offering to the client base. The webinars will start on 17th June 2021. You can learn more about the webinars and the project here. Bottom Line Truth is that the start-ups in Bangladesh are lagging in the digital transaction landscape. Businesses aren’t able to utilize the existing digital transaction channels properly and neither are their new growth opportunities. To this end, the initiative taken by Visa to promote their services and incorporate them in the growth of start-ups and Fintech is certainly commendable. Read Shammi Quddus: A Talented Bangladeshi Woman in Google Global Fintech Industry.

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Friday said Bangladesh’s banking sector will be digitalised within the next five years.