Bangladesh e-commerce to see explosive growth in next 3 years

He says given the changing habits of tech-savvy people, there will be an explosive growth in the country’s e-commerce field over the next three years. According to him, the growth will increase to 40% per month from 36% now in next few years. Rezwanul said presently the monthly value of the country’s e-shopping is Tk1,000 crore which continues to rise rapidly.Dhaka Tribune: Where is Bangladesh now in e-commerce, particularly in South and South-east Asia?Rezwanul Haque: Bangladesh is now at the fourth place in e-commerce adoption among other nations in the region. But the situation could have been better if Internet penetration in the country was faster. India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are doing well in increasing the people’s Internet penetration compared to Bangladesh.Is the lack of trust among clients a major barrier in Bangladesh for e-commerce in gaining popularity?The debit and credit card holders of banks feel a lack of confidence in the e-commerce system after a number of forgery incidents happened recently. They fear they would be cheated by e-commerce firms while using the system. Besides, low quality of products and services in online market places remain another reason behind failure in attracting many potential buyers.Why does e-commerce traders avoid cash-on-delivery system?Cash-on-delivery system bears some risks. According to e-CAB members, around 10% of the cash-on-delivery followers face financial losses. Yet the system is popular in Bangladesh because of weakness in our financial system. This is also popular in India.How is e-CAB handling the issue of low quality products and frauds in online market places?We have already made self-governing policies for our (e-CAB) 367 members to ensure quality of products and services. The e-CAB has suspended membership of some e-commerce firms including a courier service provider on allegations of presenting low quality products and services.Is a law and a policy necessary to control the business and prevent unscrupulous traders from polluting the system?Yes. we have already started formulating an e-commerce policy. We think laws also need to be amended while new laws could be necessary in cases like ensuring authenticity.What are you doing against the e-commerce frauds?We suspend website of those involved in online business frauds. We can do that if they use the country domain. But when they use international domain it’s not then possible for us to shut down their website.