DHAKA, MAY 23 (V7N) - Bangladesh Bank (BB) has officially renamed the existing “Cashless Bangladesh Unit” established across commercial banks and financial institutions to the “Bangla QR Implementation Unit.” Alongside this visual and structural rebranding, the central bank has issued a comprehensive set of operational directives. These measures are specifically aimed at accelerating the expansion of digital payments and strengthening the overall cashless transaction ecosystem of the country.
According to the central bank circular issued today, all scheduled banks, Mobile Financial Service (MFS) providers, Payment Service Providers (PSP), and Payment System Operators (PSO) must comply with this directive immediately. These financial institutions are instructed to change the name of the designated desks at their respective head offices. This move ensures a hyper-focused corporate approach toward scaling up Bangla QR-based transactions nationwide.
The central bank explicitly stated that this structural shift is targeted at systematically reducing the economy's heavy dependence on physical cash transactions. By accelerating the deployment of the unified Bangla QR platform across urban and rural markets, Bangladesh Bank plans to reinforce an inclusive digital payment infrastructure. This will bring marginalized consumers and small-scale asset holders into the formal digital network.
As part of the fresh operational guidelines, banks, MFS providers, and PSPs are mandated to actively increase customer registration metrics on their respective mobile applications. To ensure smooth user interaction and easier customer access, financial institutions must ensure that the Bangla QR payment interface remains prominently visible on the primary home page of their mobile applications.
To rapidly multiply the national merchant payment footprint, the regulatory circular has turned its focus toward grassroots commercial traders. Bangladesh Bank has directed all scheduled commercial banks to bring retail account holders who possess valid trade licenses directly under the Bangla QR channel. This strategy aims to convert standard retail shops into digital payment points.
The central bank has set a strict timeline for all participating financial institutions to report their strategic deployment models. All concerned banks and payment corporations are required to submit a detailed, metric-driven action plan to the Payment Systems Department (PSD-1) of Bangladesh Bank by June 3, 2026. These corporate blueprints must outline clear targets for app registrations and new merchant acquisitions running through July 31, 2026.
To ensure effective implementation at the absolute field level, the central bank has introduced a grassroots enforcement role. Every scheduled commercial bank is instructed to appoint a dedicated official at each of their physical branches to act as a “Bangla QR Branding Officer.” The primary responsibility of this officer will be to promote QR utilities, educate local consumers, and clear technical bottlenecks for regional merchants.
Simultaneously, addressing macroeconomic challenges, Bangladesh Bank today announced a monumental Tk 60,000 crore economic stimulus package. Unveiled by BB Governor Md. Mostaqur Rahman during a high-level press briefing at the central bank headquarters in the capital, the massive financial recovery pool is designed to revive shuttered and struggling domestic manufacturing units and boost private sector financial activities.
Governor Md. Mostaqur Rahman highlighted that the mega-scale financial initiative is fundamentally structured to restore the country's disrupted industrial production capacity and strengthen export volumes. Furthermore, the central bank’s economic projections indicate that the targeted capital injection will generate approximately 2.5 million direct and indirect employment opportunities across various core sectors of the domestic economy.
According to the operational breakdown provided by Bangladesh Bank, the Tk 60,000 crore package will utilize two separate financial channels. A major chunk of Tk 41,000 crore will be disbursed via specialized refinancing facilities sourced directly from commercial banks holding excess liquidity reserves. The remaining Tk 19,000 crore will be injected directly from the central bank’s own funds backed by a sovereign government guarantee.
The Tk 41,000 crore refinancing component has been strictly divided to target vulnerable supply chains. Out of this pool, Tk 20,000 crore is explicitly reserved for reopening closed industrial and service enterprises, Tk 10,000 crore for rural economic activities and agriculture, and Tk 5,000 crore for Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (CMSMEs). Additionally, export diversification and the North Bengal agricultural hub will receive Tk 3,000 crore each.
From its internal Tk 19,000 crore guaranteed pool, Bangladesh Bank will operate targeted schemes including Tk 5,000 crore for pre-shipment credit refinancing and Tk 5,000 crore for cottage entrepreneurs. Leather, footwear, frozen shrimp, and fish exports are allotted Tk 2,000 crore per sector, with the remainder financing green energy, tech startups, and youth employment. The Governor noted this countercyclical measure responds to the post-Covid shocks, the Ukraine war, and forex volatility that have left over 1,200 industrial units partially or completely closed.
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