The government has launched Bangla QR, a unified QR-code-based payment system, as part of its drive to build a cashless economy, with customers and merchants to pay no fees or charges for transactions.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced the fee-free arrangement on Thursday while inaugurating QR-code-based purchases and inspecting transactions at Banani Kacha Bazar in Dhaka.
He said transactions through Bangla QR would be completely free under the government initiative, meaning neither customers nor merchants would have to bear any additional charges.
The initiative is intended to bring people across the economic spectrum into digital financial services, including street vendors, fuchka sellers, rickshaw pullers and small businesses.
According to the finance minister, even small traders and roadside vendors will be able to receive payments through QR codes directly into accounts held with banks or other service providers.
Push towards a cashless economy
The government expects the system to reduce people’s dependence on cash and make everyday transactions easier, faster and safer.
“People will no longer have to carry cash with them,” the minister said, adding that the system would help modernise the country’s financial and economic activities.
He acknowledged that some minor technical challenges or temporary problems could emerge during the initial phase of Bangla QR.
However, he said such difficulties could be resolved quickly, pointing to the experience of developed and rapidly growing economies where cashless transactions have become widely used.
Bangladesh Bank is also working to make international practices in cashless transactions more widely available in Bangladesh, he said.
The finance minister urged citizens, businesses and service providers to participate in the government’s initiative to build a more digital, cashless and secure economy.
The launch comes as Bangladesh seeks to expand digital payments beyond formal businesses and bring smaller merchants and low-value everyday transactions into the formal financial system.