PayPal to start services in Bangladesh this year

PayPal, a global leader in e-commerce, is coming to Bangladesh.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 July 2015, 11:02 AM
Updated : 19 Sept 2015, 03:45 PM

Most of its services, specially its online payments systems, will be available here within this year, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak says.
 
PayPal is one of the world's largest internet payment companies.
 
Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders.
 
Palak says he had discussed with PayPal's vice-president to extend the company's business to Bangladesh at the earliest.
 
"We had a very effective meeting with Vice President of PayPal today in San Jose, California. We explained in detail Bangladesh government's policies & regulatory reforms and business opportunities for PayPal," Palak observed in his Facebook posting.
 
He said PayPal agreed to launch Xoom's operations in Bangladesh within this quarter.
 

PayPal acquired Xoom to expand its business in emerging markets like China, India and Mexico.
Palak said he will discuss the whole issue with Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman and Finance Minister AMA Muhith soon.
"They (PayPal) will also internally discuss on how they can prioritise and launch PayPal in Bangladesh and let us know if they need any further support from our Government. We will continue our efforts to bring PayPal to Bangladesh sooner than later," Palak said.
As of 2014, PayPal operates in 203 markets and has 152 million active registered accounts.
PayPal allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 26 currencies worldwide.
Its services allow people to make financial transactions online by granting the ability to transfer funds electronically between individuals and businesses.
Discussions to bring PayPal to Bangladesh started in 2011. Finance Minister Muhith had promised to make PayPal's services available in Bangladesh on several occasions.
At the moment, Payza, Skrill and Payoneer operate online payments services in Bangladesh
As much as $70 million annually flows into Bangladesh through these services, much of it through Payoneer, a Bangladesh Bank official told
bdnews24.com.
Unofficially, another $50 million may be coming in, he said.