IT freelancers can now bring in remittance through mobile financial service

Bangladesh Bank today allowed mobile financial service (MFS) providers to bring remittance in order to facilitate freelance workers.

Only banks were earlier allowed to provide such remittance services, but MFS providers are now permitted to cater the services to people engaged with export of IT related services, according to a central bank notice. 

A business under the service sector is now allowed to bring remittance of maximum $10,000 per transaction against his or her exported item/service, a Bangladesh Bank official said quoting previous guidelines to this end.  

The central bank set a number of criteria for MFS providers to roll out the service, which will give a benefit to freelancers, software exporters and other services under the IT sector.

MFS providers will have to ink agreements with the internationally recognised foreign payment service providers (PSPs) like online payment gateway service providers (OPGSPs) and digital wallet providers.

A PSP offers online services for accepting electronic payments by a variety of payment methods including credit card, bank-based payments such as direct debit, bank transfer, and real-time bank transfer based on online banking.

This means the foreign importers will allow sending money through the foreign fintech to the country's MFS providers.

BANKS ALLOWED TO EXTEND TRANSACTION FACILITIES TO TOURISTS WITH DIGITAL WALLETS

In another move on the same day, the central bank has allowed banks to extend transaction facilities to incoming tourists or passengers who bring money in their digital wallets.

Under the policy, banks will have to make an agreement with the foreign PSPs engaging with catering digital wallet services.

Under the above arrangement, banks will purchase foreign currency from digital wallets of incoming tourists and passengers by making payments in equivalent taka in cash or issuance of one time prepaid cards in taka during their stay in Bangladesh. 

Besides, the foreigners will be allowed to use the prepaid cards at the point of sale (POS) terminals while purchasing products from shops in the country.