Bangladesh Bank Boosts Drive for Digital Transactions Including QR Code-Based Payments
Bangladesh Bank is stepping up its efforts to promote digital transactions, including QR code-based payments, across the country. To this end, the central bank has decided to form a task force comprising representatives from banks and mobile financial service (MFS) providers.
In addition, the central bank plans to make QR code adoption mandatory for businesses by linking it to trade license requirements, as part of its strategy to digitize 75 percent of the country’s transactions by 2027.
Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director (in charge) of the Payment Systems Department at Bangladesh Bank, stated, “A two-year plan has been adopted to establish a cashless ecosystem. As part of this initiative, traders will be required to adopt QR codes when obtaining trade licenses. Furthermore, efforts are underway to install POS (Point of Sale) machines and promote QR code acceptance in shops located in major city markets, in coordination with the respective city corporations.”
Sources said that the issue was discussed in detail during the bankers’ meeting held last July. During the discussion, Naushad Mostafa, Director of the SME and Special Programs Department at Bangladesh Bank, pointed out some fundamental challenges in promoting QR code use among merchants. He stated that while customers can pay merchants using QR codes, the merchants themselves face difficulties when purchasing goods from wholesalers, as QR-based payments are not yet accepted at that level. Consequently, merchants have to withdraw cash from banks, complicating the process and hindering the spread of QR-based payments. Mostafa proposed introducing market-based incentives to encourage wholesalers to adopt QR code payment systems.
Executive Director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, Md. Arif Hossain Khan, further informed that letters have already been sent to local government authorities requesting necessary measures to make QR code adoption a prerequisite for business license renewal and issuance. He added that positive responses have been received, and other decisions taken in the bankers’ meeting are now being implemented.
It is worth noting that the QR (Quick Response) code is a type of barcode that allows fast and convenient digital payments by scanning it through a smartphone payment app. This system bypasses traditional payment cards and related infrastructure, making transactions easier, safer, and faster. Bangladesh Bank’s Bangla QR is a unified digital payment system designed to promote such cashless transactions nationwide.
