Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked mobile financial service (MFS) providers to ensure uninterrupted services so that the onetime cash assistance announced by the government can easily be provided to distressed families.
The central bank made the call on Thursday.
All MFS providers have been asked to keep their own systems, distribution, and agent channels functional, while ensuring enough cash at all agent points.
In order to provide cash assistance, the central bank instructed MFS providers to take necessary steps to open mobile financial service accounts by verifying national identity cards as per the list of beneficiaries prepared by the Finance Ministry.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the disbursement of Tk1,250 crore in cash assistance for five million poor families hit hard by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
The premier inaugurated the disbursement through a video conference at her official residence Ganabhaban.
The fund will be distributed through MFSs such as bKash, Rocket, Nagad, and SureCash.
On the same day, the Finance Division released Tk1,257 crore for cash assistance, Tk627 crore of which was disbursed at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from the Budget 1 wing, while the remaining Tk630 crore was disbursed from the Budget 3 wing.
The PMO is supervising the operations of this initiative.
