Nagad, the digital financial service of Bangladesh Post Office, has officially started the process of bringing the users of Grameenphone Limited under this state-of-the-art innovation.
The initiative will enable the 7.6 crore Grameenphone users to efficiently avail the services of Nagad.
An agreement has been signed between Nagad and Grameenphone in this regard recently. Under the deal, Grameenphone customers can become the clients of Nagad by opening an account dialling *167# from their mobile phone and setting the PIN. For the last few months, Grameenphone customers have been availing this innovative service on a trial basis, according to a press release.
Nagad, the fastest-growing mobile financial service in the world, launched this technological innovation for Grameenphone users through a virtual event on the Victory Day.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar inaugurated the rollout of this joint initiative between Nagad and Grameenphone, further speeding up the digital financial inclusion process.
Moreover, Grameenphone subscribers can become user of Nagad even if they download the app of Nagad and set a four-digit PIN.
Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Md Afzal Hossain, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sundar Sikder, Director General of the Bangladesh Postal Department Md Siraz Uddin, Tanvir A Mishuk, Managing Director of Nagad and Yasir Azman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameenphone Limited were present in the event.
From the beginning of Nagad's journey in March 2019, customers have been able to open an account instantly with a selfie and the photo of the NID card through Nagad app under its digital KYC initiative. For cash-in of at least Tk 500 within 24 hours of opening the account, a customer can get a chance to become a ‘LAKHPOTI’.
Besides, Grameenphone customers can enjoy some lucrative offers if they recharge their mobiles through Nagad, second-largest digital financial service carrier of Bangladesh.
Commenting on this state-of-the-art technological innovation, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said: "I must thank Nagad and Grameenphone to make such arrangement which will ease the process for the citizens to access the digital service effortlessly. Using this innovation, common people of Bangladesh will not face any obstacle and will be able to avoid the lengthy procedure to be financially included. This initiative will play a significant role in the overall economic development of the country.”
Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of Grameenphone Limited, said, "We must work together with our partners to bring the benefits of technology and make digital inclusion possible for the people of Bangladesh. This agreement shows our firm commitment towards Digital Bangladesh & digital financial inclusion through partnership. We are happy to connect our customers to what matters most to them."
Tanvir A Mishuk, Managing Director of Nagad, said, “As far as we know, there is no other precedence of opening a financial services account so easily like it and at the same time, we know that this is the largest financial inclusion initiative in the world. This revolutionary initiative will help bring the widest network base of the country under financial inclusion. Besides, it will also play a helpful role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This will also usher in a new chapter of the digital revolution in Bangladesh, which will help transform Bangladesh into a middle-income country.”
Thanks to the agreement, Nagad will be established as the top digital financial service (MFS) provider in the country in terms of the number of customers. Earlier this year, Nagad signed similar agreements with several other mobile carriers. As a result, hundreds of thousands of users are opening MFS accounts with Nagad every month using the single-dial procedure without going through the complexity of filling out paper forms.
For the existing Grameenphone subscribers who are already registered with Nagad or new customers on the Nagad platform, Grameenphone has come up with some data and bundle offers.
If they recharge Tk 26 from Nagad wallet, subscribers will get 300MB of data and 30 voice minutes for 72 hours. On recharging Tk 31, subscribers will get talk time of 50 minutes for three days. A recharge of Tk 42 will give 1GB of data for three days.