Bangladesh’s GDP growth rate will increase in 2024, according to Asian Development Bank. In line with this and looking to catalyse this development, Bangladesh Bank has selected paytech Fime to launch the nation’s domestic card scheme.
Research from the Asian Development Bank has shown that Bangladesh’s GDP growth is set to increase from 5.3 per cent in 2023 to 6.5 per cent in 2024. Playing its part in accelerating growth, Bangladesh Bank has selected Fime to provide consulting and testing services, and set up a certification body framework. The two organisations have agreed a six year partnership to work on the Bangladesh domestic card scheme
“Bangladesh is an emerging market with a growing payments ecosystem and a strong desire for digital solutions that advance the Smart Bangladesh Mission,” comments Mezbaul Haque, executive director, Bangladesh Bank. “We are confident and ready to begin our journey towards payments sovereignty, and we are looking forward to working with Fime to achieve this goal.”
Financial inclusion and cybersecurity are two of the most important factors in the fintech world currently. As a result, Fime is supporting Bangladesh Bank incorporate these elements, and sovereignty, into its payment strategy. The paytech will also support onboarding and the eventual running and operation of the scheme once the certification body framework is prepared.
Angaj Bhandari, VP – MEA, India and South Asia at Fime, adds: “This initiative will be fundamental in increasing the penetration of digital payments and boosting financial inclusion in the region. Our experts in South Asia will deliver global expertise at a local level. They will tailor the domestic scheme and its digital payments architecture to the unique requirements of the Bangladeshi market.”
Developing digital and innovative domestic schemes
Fime enables the creation of digital and innovative domestic schemes in many countries. Furthermore, it enables these developments to remain in line with their international counterparts. All the while, they retain sovereignty over their own payments network. Bangladesh is the second country in South Asia Fime has supported, with the first being India and its RuPay scheme.
Fime’s Savvi+ Test Platform and the digital cloud-based Fime Test Factory suite are fundamental in setting up and managing the scheme’s testing and certification infrastructure. Consequently, it gives the country’s payments stakeholders a single solution for all certification needs.
Francis Bignell
