Mobile telecom operators are about to get into mobile financial services industry, said a report by the Daily Manab Zamin. Until now, telecom operators were not allowed to start an MFS service due to regulatory barriers. However, the government is now considering to allow telecom operators to launch MFS in order to ensure proper competition in the market, said the report.
The first mobile money service, bKash, launched in the country in 2011. It did not take much time to grow. Today, Bangladesh accounts for more than 8% of total mobile money accounts globally.
More than 12 companies now offer mobile money services with bKash leading the pack. We have also seen a rise in standalone mobile wallet services launched in collaboration with mobile money services like Pay 365, Payza and couple more.