Bangladesh’s mobile financial service (MFS) providers like bKash, Nagad, and Rocket are set to launch inter-transaction services from November 1 under Bangladesh Bank supervision. The new system will allow instant fund transfers between MFS accounts and banks, reducing cash transactions. The central bank has fixed charges—Tk 1.50 per Tk 1,000 for bank transfers, Tk 8.50 for MFS transfers, and Tk 2 for PSP transfers. Meanwhile, the previous interoperability platform Binimoy, launched in 2022, failed to operate due to alleged political influence and management issues.
Bangladesh’s mobile financial service (MFS) providers are preparing to introduce inter-transaction facilities among themselves. This will allow users of platforms such as bKash, Nagad, and Rocket to instantly transfer funds between one another, as well as send money to any bank account. The initiative aims to reduce cash-based transactions. Scheduled to launch on November 1 under the supervision of Bangladesh Bank, officials from the central bank say this marks the beginning of a new era in the country’s financial transaction system. The regulator has also determined the transaction fees for the service.
According to a circular from Bangladesh Bank, the initiative—designed to reduce cash usage—will enable interoperable transactions among all banks, MFS operators, and payment service providers via the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB) infrastructure. Starting November 1, banks, payment service providers, and MFS institutions will officially begin such transactions.
Service Charges
Bangladesh Bank has set the maximum charges that customers will incur under this new system. The circular specifies that transferring Tk 1,000 from any bank to another bank, MFS, or payment service provider will cost Tk 1.50. Sending Tk 1,000 from services like bKash, Rocket, or Nagad to any MFS, bank, or payment service provider account will incur a charge of Tk 8.50, while transfers from a payment service provider account to a bank or MFS will cost Tk 2 per Tk 1,000.
The “Binimoy” Setback
The Interoperable Digital Transaction Platform (IDTP)—known as Binimoy—was launched in November 2022 under the ICT Division’s Innovation and Entrepreneur Development Academy Establishment (iDEA) project at a cost of Tk 65 crore. It was designed to enable financial transactions between banks and mobile financial service providers. However, despite being inaugurated, the platform never became functional.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur stated at an event in January that Binimoy, which was created to promote interoperability among MFS providers, was actually a shell company owned by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He noted that one of the main reasons for the lack of progress in implementing MFS interoperability was that the project had been placed under the ICT Ministry.
Documents show that, in addition to Sajeeb Wazed, Jaref Hamid—the son of former State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid—also benefited from the platform. Binimoy was jointly developed by Orion Informatics, Microsoft, Fintech Limited, and Syn Ventures. Among these, Fintech Limited—renamed Velware Limited in 2022—is owned by Nasrul Hamid’s wife, Seema Hamid, and their son, Jaref Hamid. The company is jointly owned by Jaref Hamid and the U.S.-based Prime Holdings LLC. In January 2024, Bangladesh Bank signed an agreement with Velware to operate the Binimoy platform.
Before Binimoy was even conceived, Bangladesh Bank had planned to launch a similar service independently. The service was initially scheduled to go live on October 27, 2020, and a circular had been issued accordingly. However, the plan was never implemented, and the government later introduced the Binimoy platform under a separate project.