State owned Sonali Bank has received permission from the Bangladesh Bank to proceed with the necessary procedures with PayPal to start its operation in Bangladesh.
The central bank’s Foreign Exchange Policy Department issued the order on Monday to make the global online payment system PayPal available here.
“We just received the permission. Now we will go forward with necessary procedures including signing of formal agreement with the PayPal, so that the service comes into operation soon,” Md Nawab Hossen, principal officer of Foreign Remittance Management Division of Sonali Bank told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Sonali Bank now will sign agreement with PayPal soon after opening a legal channel for transaction,” the bank official added.
“Once the agreement is signed, we will work for developing the software and its integration with PayPal. However, it may not take much time. Good news may come soon,” he said further.
The service will help people and businesses transfer funds, including transfer of remittances, electronically, without any hassle.
PayPal allows individuals and businesses to transfer funds electronically. As it is an online service, an individual first needs to open a PayPal account with a valid email address. The aspiring PayPal user would also need a valid credit card or a bank account linked with PayPal to avail its services.
Bangladesh has been facing difficulty in receiving remittance earned through outsourcing but the new contract with PayPal will make the remittance inflow easier and faster, said Nawab Hossen.
PayPal makes money by charging transaction fees mainly from business accounts, charging to a payment’s recipient. Although most transactions are free, merchants pay a fee for each transaction. However, it does not charge any fees to send money.
On July 15, 2015, Zunaid Ahmed Palak on a Facebook status said: “We had a very effective meeting with the vice-president of PayPal today in San Jose, California. We explained them in details about Bangladesh Government’s policies and regulatory reforms and business opportunities for PayPal.
“They have agreed to launch Xoom’s operations in Bangladesh within this quarter. They [PayPal] will also internally discuss on how they can prioritise and launch PayPal in Bangladesh and let us know if they need any further support from our government. We will continue our persuasion to bring PayPal in Bangladesh sooner than later.”
Source: Dhaka Tribune