bKash, the leading mobile financial service (MFS) provider in Bangladesh, has joined hands with Grameenphone and City Bank to make 4G and 5G enabled smartphones more affordable for their clients.

Under this arrangement, bKash customers can avail City Bank's collateral-free nano-loan facility under the "Pay Later" option of the bKash app when purchasing smartphones from Grameenphone Experience Centres or other smartphone partner brand sales points having bKash merchant accounts.

Under the new service, customers will get a limit of Tk 500 to Tk 30,000 loans instantly through bKash app, according to a press release.

Customers can fully repay the amount in 7 days without any interest, if not, then that Pay Later will convert into a 3-month loan with a 9 percent interest per annum. In the 6-month repayment option, a customer needs to make an upfront payment of 20 percent of the total payable amount and the remaining 80 percent will be divided into six equal monthly instalments.

Solaiman Alam, chief digital officer of Grameenphone, said they are delighted to collaborate with bKash and City Bank to introduce the service that makes 4G and 5G smartphones more accessible for customers.

"By offering flexible and affordable financing options, we are ensuring that more people can experience the benefits of a digitally connected society," he added.

Ali Ahmmed, chief commercial officer of bKash, said through this partnership, they aspire to support customers and elevate their experiences in seamless connectivity and advanced digital services through smartphones.

"bKash will continue to work with accomplished partners like Grameenphone and City Bank to introduce more innovative products that can cater to the needs of the vast customer base," he added.

Md Arup Haider, deputy managing director and head of retail banking at City Bank, said the Pay Later service is a perfect example of innovation executed together with multiple partners in the ecosystem to add significant value to customers' lives.

"Today, the robust technology and framework built by bKash and City Bank have taken banking services like loans and savings to a larger number of customers than conventional methods," he added.

The instalments will be paid automatically on the specified date of every month. Customers will also have the option of early repayment. A one-time processing fee would be applicable in Pay Later service.

In addition, Grameenphone is offering an affordable data pack designed to cater to the evolving digital needs for its customers using smartphones.

For just Tk 199, customers can access 7GB of data, consisting of 4GB regular data and 3GB for social media usage with a validity of 30 days.

This offer will be exclusively available through the MyGP app for 6 months from the tagging date. Customers can purchase this offer as many times as they want during this period.