Bangladesh Bank has ordered the closure of three online payment gateways for conducting business without approval. These are Foster Corporation Limited, Passenger Limited and The Codero Limited.
The instructions were sent in three separate letters from the central bank to the managing directors and chief executives of all scheduled banks, mobile financial service providers and payment service providers (PSPs).
Banks have been instructed not to provide any services related to trust-cum-settlement accounts and payment system operations at the three online payment gateways as the application for license was not accepted in the letter from the central bank.
According to central bank sources, Bangladesh Bank has so far licensed nine companies to provide e-payment gateways or e-wallet services. Of these, five companies have been licensed for Payment Systems Operator (PSO) or e-payment gateway services. They are IT Consultants, SSL Commerce, Suryamukhi Limited, Pragati Systems and Partonics Limited. Four other companies have been licensed for payment service providers or e-wallet services.
My Pay, Easy Pay Way, Pay Space, Wallet Mix and Foster Payment Gateway have submitted documents to the Central Bank for approval.
However, several other companies are also providing PSO services. These include BD Smart Pay, BTT Pay, Port Wallet, Two Check Out and a few more PSOs.
