Practice of carrying cash declining: experts

The practice of carrying cash is gradually declining in Bangladesh as people are getting to understand the financial benefits of digital payment systems like debit and credit cards, said experts and policymakers yesterday.

Billions of taka is being transferred through digital channels every day, so security needs to be enhanced to ensure that this money reaches desired destinations, they told a seminar titled "Payments, Identity and Security".

Entrust Datacard, a global provider of trusted identity and secure transaction technologies, and LEADS Corporation Ltd, Bangladesh organised the event at The Westin Dhaka.

Bangladesh still does not have a payment system act, but it is a prerequisite to pushing the industry to the next level, said Lila Rashid, general manager of the payment systems department of the Bangladesh Bank.

"We have drafted an act which, we hope, will be placed in parliament within a short time, and after getting the law we can move for digitisation in a more secure way," she said.

Rashid also criticised banks, mostly leading private ones, for not pushing the regulator into introducing the latest technological solutions.

"The regulator always lags behind and private banks need to push the regulator to allow more modern solutions which will help their customers," she added.

There are 9.80 lakh credit cards and about 1.1 crore debit cards in the country, said speakers, adding that people were also using a huge number of digital financial services, pushing the market to become cashless.