Dhaka:Digital transactions through the universal Bangla QR system have surged significantly over the past 90 days. The average daily transaction value rose from around Tk 28 crore in June to Tk 143.54 crore presently, as reported by Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the number of daily transactions has also increased 3.5 times during this period, growing from approximately 100,000 in June to nearly 350,000 now. Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan disclosed these performance metrics during a press briefing at the central bank headquarters. Senior officials from the Payment Systems Department were also present at the briefing.
Currently, customers of various banks and Mobile Financial Service (MFS) providers can make payments across nearly 3.9 million merchant points nationwide by using Bangla QR codes through their financial apps. In an effort to promote a cashless economy, Bangladesh Bank mandated the switch to the universal Bangla QR framework from proprietary QR codes on July 1.
Several new incentives and operational changes will be implemented on October 1 to further encourage the use of Bangla QR. Under the revised guidelines, payments made via Bangla QR will be credited to merchants' accounts instantly. The central bank has also removed 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 change aims to significantly reduce transaction costs for merchants, allowing banks and MFS providers to offer Bangla QR services at low or no cost.
Additionally, Bangladesh Bank will provide financial incentives of 0.10 percent to acquiring institutions and 0.20 percent to issuing institutions on Bangla QR merchant transactions up to Tk 2,000.
Starting November 1, Person-to-Person (P2P) inter-institutional transactions will be available to expand the operational scope of Bangla QR. Individuals will be able to transfer funds directly to another person by scanning a QR code or uploading a saved QR code image into their payment app. Bangladesh Bank has enhanced mechanisms for quick refunds to address transaction failures and issued detailed guidelines on September 27 to ensure transparent and prompt resolution of transaction disputes. Customers facing issues with Bangla QR transactions can lodge complaints through the Bangladesh Bank hotline at 16236.