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The Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday allowed mobile financial service operators such as bKash, Nagad, Rocket and others MFS licensees by the Bangladesh Bank to repatriate export proceeds of small value IT-enabled services providers in digital wallets.
Usually, exporters of such IT related services usually repatriate export proceeds through banks.
To this end, the BB on the day issued a circular asking the MFS operators to follow specific instructions in this regard.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services president Syed Almas Kabir told New Age, ‘The initiative of the BB is commendable as it would be a great respite for the exporters of small value IT-enabled services in receiving export earnings at ease.’
In absence of the PayPal, a global online payments system, in Bangladesh, the small-scale ITES exporters, including freelancers, were facing difficulty in receiving payments from abroad, said Almas, adding that the scope introduced by the central bank would be a great help for such exporters.
Besides, the service would open up new avenue to building cashless society, he said.
As per the BB instruction, MFS operators will have to make standing arrangements with internationally recognised foreign payment service providers like online payment gateway service providers, digital wallet providers or aggregators operating in multiple countries.
Besides, the MFS operators were asked to maintain settlement accounts in equivalent local currency with respective authorised dealer banks.
The circular also instructed AD banks to transfer funds received from foreign PSPs in their nostro accounts abroad to settle accounts of MFS operators.
Based on this fund, the MFS operators will make funds available to digital wallets of exporters.
Foreign PSPs were allowed to maintain accounts in the taka or in foreign currency with AD banks for settlement of such payments.
AD banks can extend overdraft facilities over the accounts against payment guarantees based on the transaction flows, the circular said.
Exporters are entitled to retain foreign currency in retention quota accounts.
The circular allows such accounts to be maintained by AD banks. Retention quote accounts need to be credited with foreign currency before making credit of the funds to settlement accounts in the taka of MFS operators.
An official of the central bank said that Bangladesh Bank in 2011 allowed banks to make arrangements with OPGSPs to repatriate small-value service export proceeds.
Considering the volume of small-value transactions, alternative delivery channels by MFS operators is a need of the time, he said.
The new policy supports are expected to be beneficial to IT exporters, freelancers in particular, for easy repatriation of service income, he said.
In another circular issued on the day, the Bangladesh Bank has allowed banks to extend transactions facilities to incoming tourists who bring money in their digital wallets.
Under the policy, banks are allowed to make agreements with foreign digital wallets.
