Bangladesh Post Office yesterday announced it would roll out a digital wallet service called “Daak Taka” within three months and allow people to open accounts at just Tk 2.
The department aims to open three crore accounts by 2018 in a bid to help deepen financial inclusion.
Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy made the announcement at the posts and telecommunications division. An account was also opened for one Marzina Begum, a domestic worker from Tangail.
Daak Taka users will be able to deposit and withdraw cash, transfer funds and make payments, all using either a mobile phone or a “postal cash card”, said the developer, D Money Bangladesh.
The software service provider, which will also provide necessary technical support, said transactions with financial entities would also be possible, changing the whole scenario for common people.
Joy said services provided by the government were being digitised so that everything can be availed online and through mobiles, in effect simplifying people's lives. But this will not be a reality until financial services are digitised, he added.
“Bank branches do not exist in every village and union so how can digitised cash reach people? We have a plan to utilise post offices where people can go for digital transactions,” said Joy.
There are over 8,500 post offices across the country. They exist even in the remotest corners.
Tarana Halim, state minister for posts and telecommunications, said services at the post offices would go digital by 2021.
D-Money Vice Chairman Sonia Bashir Kabir said every available platform would be offered for transactions as their main target was to create a cashless society.
“Our target is to boost financial inclusion and within one year we want to change the face of mobile financial services in the country,” she said.
Transaction charges will be nominal, less than what the market currently offers, and the post office will get a huge share of the earnings, said the developers.
A top postal official said they did not require any licence from any authority as they were not under the central bank.
Posts and Telecommunications Division Secretary Shyam Sundar Sikder and D-Money Chairman Anjan Chowdhury also spoke on the occasion.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/post-offices-offer-digital-wallet-service-1503727
