EBL becomes the first local bank to act as a Visa NNSS agent

Eastern Bank PLC (EBL) and Visa have signed a strategic partnership agreement, under which EBL will act as Visa's first national net settlement service (NNSS) agent in Bangladesh.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director and CEO of EBL, and Sabbir Ahmed, country manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Visa, penned the deal at the bank's head office in Dhaka's Gulshan recently, said a press release.

Under this deal, the bank will manage fund settlement operations between acquiring and issuing banks within the Visa NNSS framework.

EBL's participation in the system will create more favourable terms for banks nationwide, fostering the growth of Visa card services and expanding their reach within the banking ecosystem.

"This partnership will streamline settlement processes, reduce transaction time and bolster the country's digital payment infrastructure," Iftekhar said.

Ahmed said they are confident that EBL's capabilities will enable them to provide better, safer and smoother services to clients that rely on Visa for paying digitally and safely every day.

The signing ceremony was attended by M Khorshed Anowar, deputy managing director and head of retail and SME banking at the bank, Ahsan Ullah Chowdhury, head of digital financial services, Syed Zulkar Nayen, head of business, and Muyeed Hasnayen, head of cards and digital banking operations.

Among others, Ashish Chakraborty, director of business development for South Asia at Visa, and Farzana Ali, branch area head for Dhaka at the bank, and Ziaul Karim, head of communications and external affairs, along with other senior officials from both organisations were also present.