PayPal could be a game-changer

Money transferring is about to get a lot easier. The advent of PayPal -- the largest online money transferring and payments service in the world -- is likely to be a game-changer and another milestone for Bangladesh on its path to realising Vision 2021. The safe and efficient transfer of money is at the heart of a prosperous and thriving modern economy, and for Bangladesh in particular, this new service will aid in our development in a number of ways. Our burgeoning e-commerce industry stands to benefit considerably from a secured and trusted online payments system. We can expect demand from both foreign and domestic consumers to escalate, and this may very well encourage more entrepreneurs to flock to this sector. On the other hand, our sizeable freelance community of over half a million freelancers is also very excited about the prospect of receiving payments on time and free of hassle. Foreign clients who were previously discouraged by the complicated and often unreliable methods of payment are now likely to be more comfortable and interested to place work orders with freelancers. Migrant workers with families at home, parents of students studying overseas, and many others, can also breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they can easily send money to their dependent families, sons and daughters, especially in case of an emergency. Overall, PayPal is going to be highly useful to many Bangladeshis, as well as foreign clients and consumers, and we heartily welcome its launch on October 19.