bKash fetches freelancer’s remittance in seconds

bKash has given the country's burgeoning freelancer community reason to cheer as they can now receive payments through the mobile financial service (MFS) provider within a few seconds.

bKash has already signed a deal with Payoneer, an online payment gateway service provider that allows users to send or receive payments from around the world, to this end.

With the service set to launch today, bKash, which has about 5.85 crore customers, will become the country's first MFS provider to offer an official channel for incoming remittance.

Bangladesh Bank allowed MFS providers in the country to handle the remittance of local freelancers in February last year. Previously, only banks were allowed to provide such remittance services.

Under the agreement, Brac Bank will act as the local payment gateway.

This means that any incoming remittance will first be transferred to the lender via Bangladesh Bank through Payoneer before it is deposited in the recipient's bKash account.

The whole process will only take a few seconds though as all the steps are taken in real-time.

Freelancers will have to link their Payoneer accounts with bKash accounts to avail of the service. A freelancer will be able to withdraw money when a minimum of Tk 1,000 is deposited to their bKash account.

"Thumbs up to bKash as we will get the money in real-time. It takes 24 to 48 hours to bring the payment through banking channels," said Mahdi Hasan, a top-rated freelance content writer and marketing strategist on Upwork.

"But we urge bKash to cut down the cash-out charge for freelancers to popularise the new service," he added.

The launch of the service coincided with the government's recent decision that allowed freelancers of 55 international online marketplaces a 4 per cent cash incentive against the export of their services.

A freelance service marketplace is an online site where businesses or individuals find and hire individuals for remote work. Popular freelance platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and Guru were among the selected marketplaces.

The government has been providing a 10 per cent cash assistance against the export of ICT products and services since 2018, but only institutional IT and freelancing companies that are members of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) are eligible for this benefit.

BKash's new service and the government's incentive are likely to propel the flow of freelancers' earnings through official channels since some of the money comes through unofficial channels due to a lack of incentives and a complex system of receiving remittance.

The development comes at a time when the government has set a target to increase export earnings from the IT and IT-enabled services sector from the current $1.1 billion to $5 billion by 2025.

Bangladesh has about six lakh IT service exporters and freelancers while the number of team-based freelancing companies hovers around 1,600. Together, they fetch roughly $500 million annually, according to industry people.

Many freelancers are even forming firms now as full-fledged companies get 10 per cent cash incentives on foreign export.

In a media invitation, bKash yesterday said the service would be launched through a virtual ceremony.

"Payoneer, Brac Bank, and bKash are jointly launching the service to give a boost to the country's freelancing sector," it said.