Online Desk: Nagad, one of the leading mobile financial service (MFS) institutions, has got its interim licence renewed by the Bangladesh Bank for another three months.

In a letter to the Director General of Bangladesh Postal Department, the Payment System Department (PSD) of the central bank on Tuesday informed about the renewal of the three-month interim approval.

The letter says that the approval will be effective in compliance of the existing conditions for Nadad, an arm of Bangladesh Post Office (BPO), which is first of its kind FinTech public private partnership in the country.

“The licensing process is going on in its own course. Maintaining the due process is important for transparency and the authorities are taking care of it,” said Nagad Manging Director Tanvir A Mishuk before the renewal of the interim license.

Nagad had been provided with the interim licence by the regulator (Bangladesh Bank) for the first time in March last year for six months.

The MFS provider later managed to have the interim licence extended twice and the latest one is set to expire on June 30.

On March 26, 2019, the Prime Minister`s Office launched the Postal Department`s mobile financial service Nagad under the Postal Act.

Nagad, which has been innovative and affordable from the very beginning, has drawn over 50 million customers in just over two years and secured its position as a second player of this kind in the country.

At present, more than Tk 650 crore is transacted on average a day through Nagad.

Currently, 16 MFS carriers are running the service in Bangladesh, though the total licence has reached 30. Dutch Bangla Bank Limited introduced this payment procedure in the country in 2011, which is now rebranded as ROCKET.

UNB