The Bangladesh Post Office, under the Government of Bangladesh, is going to introduce its digital financial service “Nagad”. This first of its kind service in Bangladesh promises increased financial freedom with additional security and control.The service, monikered “Nagad”, will be regulated under the “Bangaldesh Postal Act Amedment 2010” Section 3(2), a unique law procured especially for the Bangladesh Post Office.
The Postal Cash Card Service of Bangladesh Post Office, initiated in 2010, was the first ever digital service extension under the then newly formed law. This particular service was introduced in accordance to the “Digital Bangladesh” vision of the honorable Prime Minister. The nationwide infrastructure and an experience of providing financial services spanning more than a century of the postal division was considered the main catalyst behind this initiative.
Regarding the increased transaction limit of the initiative, the Director General of the Bangladesh Post Office Sushanta Kumar Mandal said, “As a government organization, we have the experience of more than a hundred years in managing financial transactions. Through our nationwide network of 9886 post offices and its employees, Bangladesh Postal Division is well equipped in tackling any irregularity in this digital financial sector with speed and efficiency. It needs to be noted that the Postal Division has been successfully accommodating financial transactions for the marginal population under different projects of the World Bank, Red Cross, UNDP, a2i, WFP and others. We also have the full support of the government to regulate this. Hence, there is no scope of overlapping with any other regulatory bodies.”
To reach out to the general people with further innovation and efficiency, Third Wave Technologies Limited has been appointed with due diligence as the master agent. This human resource of this organization has prior essential experience of this sector.
It is to be noted that two third of the whole nation is yet to be under any scope of financial inclusion. The Postal Division believes that this service will be pivotal in increasing the overall scope of financial inclusion while bringing in new dynamics to this stagnant sector.