Dhaka — Bangladesh Bank has extended the interim approval period of Bangladesh Financial Services ‘Nagad' for three more months. On Tuesday, BB sent a letter to the Postal Department informed that the approval period of Nagad would be extended till September 30, 2021.
They will have to get final approval from Bangladesh Bank within this period. Although the government is in the process of operating Nagad as a subsidiary of the Postal Department, it has been involved in a lengthy process, including amending the law with the approval of the Prime Minister.
That is why the Postal Department had asked for a six-month extension of the central bank's objection to the operation of Nagad's services.
Earlier this month, the Department of Posts and Telecommunications held a meeting in the presence of representatives of Bangladesh Bank and the Ministry of Finance. Department Secretary. At the meeting chaired by Afzal Hossain, it was decided to apply for an extension. Due to covid public holiday, it took extra time to complete the formation of the subsidiary company.
In this regard, Managing Director of ‘Nagad' Tanvir A Mishuk said that due to Corona, much office work was disrupted and the concerned authorities could not complete all the office work as per the demand of Bangladesh Bank. Bangladesh Bank has extended the interim approval period for another three months so that the services of the people are not disrupted.
Earlier, the interim approval given by Bangladesh Bank for the operation of ‘Nagad' was due to expire on June 30. In that case, it was decided to apply for an extension based on the views of all the members of the meeting in order to keep the management activities of ‘Nagad' normal and to continue serving five crore customers.
On March 26, 2019, the Prime Minister inaugurated the postal department's mobile financial service ‘Nagad'. Launched in the market with innovative and affordable services from the beginning, Nagad has built a customer base of over 5 crores in just over two years.
At present, the MFS operator is transacting more than 700 crore taka daily. Moreover, in situations like Covid, Nagad has responded by distributing government social security program allowances and other government assistance.
