State Minister Palak expects PayPal to start operations in Bangladesh ‘shortly’

The online money-transfer agency PayPal will be able to launch its services in Bangladesh 'very soon', hopes State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak .

"We will give the good news very soon," Palak said in reply to a participant's query on PayPal at a programme in Dhaka on Sunday.

PayPal is an e-commerce firm, which provides electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders.

According to Palak, 40 percent of banking transactions are now carried out online after the introduction of National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB). Customers have around 10 million ATM cards.

"Now there is only one big problem. The prime minister's ICT affairs adviser (Sajeeb Wazed Joy) has instructed us to resolve the International Payment Gateway problem in the shortest possible time," Palak said.

"One of our Silicon Valley-based firms has signed a contract with PayPal's affiliate Xoom, which is operating in 38 countries," Palak said.

He added that the government had a 'fruitful' meeting with a PayPal vice president recently.

The state minister also said four to five scheduled banks, including Eastern Bank Limited (EBL), were running 'test transactions' at present.   

"We will enter into transactions with PayPal partner Xoom. We will be able to bring PayPal to Bangladesh very soon," he said.

An electronic debit or credit card issued against a bank account is needed to open a PayPal account.

A PayPal accountholder can ask the PayPal authorities for cheques, or spend money through the account, or submit money to a bank account affiliated with his or her PayPal account.

The launching of PayPal services has been the subject of discussion in Bangladesh since 2011. Palak met a vice president of PayPal during his US visit last year. The minister said at the time that they had discussed the strategic aspects of including Bangladesh's name on the list of countries where the company has its operations.

In July this year, the state-run Sonali Bank said it was signing a deal with PayPal to have the latter commence its operations in Bangladesh. The bank said the services were expected to start in August, but the deal was yet to be signed.

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Payza, Skrill and Payoneer are currently providing similar services in Bangladesh, the minister said on Sunday, urging people to inform the ministry if they faced any problems in transferring money into Bangladesh.

At the programme, held at Canadian University of Bangladesh, its Vice Chancellor William H Derrenger and EBL Managing Director and CEO Ali Reza Iftekhar signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of their organisations.

The students of the university will be imparted training to work as interns in the bank under the MoU.