bkash clients to receive remittance through cellphones at home

bKash clients will now be able to receive remittance from abroad through their mobile phones sitting at home. Western Union and MasterCard will play a vital role in the new international service platform introduced yesterday at a function in the capital. The leading mobile financial service provider – bKash – will facilitate receiving money home simply, safely and conveniently. To get the service, an expatriate will have to go to the Western Union to take a secret number which will be used for dispatching money. Western Union will remit to bKash through the secured network of MasterCard. MasterCard, Western Union, bKash and BRAC Bank jointly launched the international remittance service platform in Bangladesh yesterday. Shahriar Alam, state minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the event as the chief guest. Remittance will come directly to mobile account holders, but bKash will not handle foreign currency, said bKash Chief Executive Officer Kamal Quadir. He said Western Union will send foreign currency to BRAC Bank, and later, the bank will send converted money to mobile wallets. With reference to their own survey, Quadir claims that a person spends Tk128 stepping in and out of a bank. The service will reduce such expenses as well as allow people living in remote areas to get money in real time. “We have experienced some technological hazards in payment network in recent time and also in the past,” said Shahriar Alam. As the service is based on technology, he suggested  all four parties involved in the platform to ensure secured transactions. It is the first time that foreign remittance will be credited to bKash account in real time, said Selim RF Hussain, managing director and chief executive officer of BRAC Bank. Matthew Driver, group executive of Global Products and Solutions, MasterCard, and Jean Claude Farah, Western Union EVP and president for Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and CIS, also spoke at the function. According to bKash, customers will simply enter Western Union reference number (MTCN), amount and PIN while their requests will be processed using MasterCard’s secure payment technology and funds credited to their bKash accounts. Once transfer is completed, funds will be accessed instantly. Customers can then either cash out their money via bKash agents or utilise their account balance to make person-to-person fund transfer. They can also store their money in their bKash accounts and earn interest on savings.