bKash, the country’s leading mobile financial service (MFS) provider, has become the first MFS to open their doors for receiving outsourcing payments, which freelancers can now finally remit home.
The MFS provider has partnered up with Payoneer, the American financial services company and an online payment gateway that provides online money transfer, digital payment services, as well as provides customers with working capital.
The freelancing community can now receive payments through bKash within a few seconds, as funds from Payoneer can be transferred directly from bKash app without any hassle and paperwork, where Brac Bank will be acting as the local payment gateway.
But they will have to link their Payoneer accounts with bKash accounts to avail of the service.
A freelancer will be able to withdraw money when a minimum of Tk1,000 is deposited to their bKash account.
Once linked, freelancers can check their Payoneer account balance, and instantly bring their payments to their bKash accounts.
These funds can be used for any purpose including ‘Send Money’ to other bKash accounts, ‘Pay Bill’, ‘Payment’ of shopping, ‘Cash Out’, etc.
Freelancers from every corner of the country no longer need to wait to receive remittance payments, addressing a key challenge to growth for these workers.
ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the service virtually as chief guest on Thursday.
ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and other top officials address a launching ceremony of bKash's partnership with Payoneer at a virtual ceremony on Thursday, February 10, 2022 Courtesy"Skilled human resources are our greatest strength. Freelancers of the country have been contributing 16% to the world’s online outsourcing. According to a study by Oxford Internet Institute, Bangladesh is the second largest destination for online outsourcing. During the last 13 years, 2 million young technology based employment have been created with various initiatives and policies of the government, and we are working for further expansion,” Palak also said.
According to the ICT Division of the Bangladesh government, there are 650,000 freelancers in Bangladesh.
Of which, 500,000 are actively working. Bangladesh also ranked eighth in the 2019 Global Gig-Economy Index published by Payoneer.
Freelancers in the country are bringing in Tk850 crore annually with most of the clients from the US who mostly prefer Paypal, according to official data which use marketplaces such as Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
“The sector has been becoming a vital part of earning remittance for the country and over the last few years several steps have been taken to tap into the potentials of the sector as well as develop it,” said Selim RF Hussain, managing director and chief executive of Brac Bank.
Brac Bank last year introduced services to cater to the freelancers of the country, which not just allowed them to receive remittance, but avail loans, he added.
Robert Clarkson, chief revenue officer of Payoneer, said that bKash already has a few customers up and running on the new program and the feedback has been extremely positive.
The central bank previously only allowed banks to provide such remittance services.
However, it recently decided to allow MFS providers in the country to handle the remittance of local freelancers.
Under the new service incoming remittance will first be transferred to the lender via Bangladesh Bank through Payoneer before it is deposited in the recipient's bKash account, taking only a few seconds to get the money to the account.
Simpler policy support
Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash, said that the government’s different policy support is making it easier for freelancers to grow.
Riding on the expanding digital infrastructure of Bangladesh, there is ample opportunity to take the country's freelancing sector to a stronger position in the global market, he also said.
The easy method of getting payments in their bKash accounts through a regulated process will remove one of the key pain points of freelancers, which is to conveniently receive payment from their clients. This will surely encourage more people to start freelancing as well as help the existing ones dedicate more time and attention to their tasks, Quadir added.
Russel T Ahmed, president of BASIS and Rohit Kulkarni, regional senior vice president of Payoneer, also spoke on the occasion.
“Freelancers often tend to keep the income outside the country, as they face difficulty in bringing the money. Also, sending money out of the country even for legitimate purposes is subject to extensive scrutiny, as well as taxation. I expect this will encourage us to bring in the money through official banking channels,” Arman Dewan, a freelancer and entrepreneur, told Dhaka Tribune.
With this new service tailored for local freelancers, bKash customers will be able to easily register a new Payoneer account, or link their existing account from the ‘Remittance’ icon of the bKash app.
The government has set a target to increase export earnings from the IT and IT-enabled services sector from the current $1.1 billion to $5 billion by 2025, which industry insiders say will be facilitated with such supporting ecosystems being developed.
