MFS operators can now bring IT service remittance
Bangladesh Bank yesterday enabled mobile financial service (MFS) providers to bring home the export earnings of online workers such as freelancers and exporters of information technology-related services.
Earlier only banks were able to provide such remittance services.
A business in the service sector is now allowed to bring in remittance of a maximum of $10,000 per transaction of items exported, a Bangladesh Bank official said quoting a previous guideline to this end.
The central bank set a number of criteria for MFS providers to roll out the service, which will benefit freelancers, software exporters and other services under the IT sector.
The MFS providers will have to ink agreements with internationally recognised foreign payment service providers such as online payment gateway service providers and digital wallet providers.
A payment service provider offers shops online services for accepting electronic payments through a variety of methods, including credit cards and bank-based payments such as direct debits and real-time bank transfers.
This means importers abroad will be allowed to send money through the foreign fintechs to the country's MFS providers.
The central bank allowed banks in 2011 to make arrangements with online payment gateway service providers to repatriate proceeds from small value service export.
Considering the volume of small value transactions, alternative delivery channels such as the MFS providers is the need of the hour, said the central bank official.
The new policy supports are expected to be beneficial for IT exporters, freelancers in particular, for easy repatriation of service income, he noted.
In another move the same day, the central bank allowed banks to extend transaction facilities to incoming tourists or passengers who bring money in their digital wallets.
Under the policy, banks will have to engage in agreements with the foreign payment service providers catering to customers with digital wallet services.
Accordingly, banks will purchase foreign currency from digital wallets of incoming tourists and passengers by making payments in equivalent taka in cash or issuance of one time prepaid cards in taka during their stay in Bangladesh.
In addition, the foreigners will be allowed to use the prepaid cards at point of sale terminals while purchasing products from shops in the country.
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