MD MEHEDI HASAN

The eagerly anticipated interoperable digital transaction facility among mobile financial service (MFS) providers has not launched on schedule, despite an announcement by the central bank that it would go live on November 1.

Industry insiders told The Daily Star that the service could not go live as key MFS operators are not yet ready, while Nagad, one of the country’s largest providers, has not been permitted to participate.

In mid-October, Bangladesh Bank issued a circular stating that from November 1, customers would be able to send and withdraw funds between different MFS providers, banks, and payment service providers via the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB).

NO MAJOR MFS READY

As of yesterday, no major MFS providers were fully prepared to launch the service. Both bKash, the largest MFS provider in the country, and upay, the digital financial service of UCB Fintech Company owned by United Commercial Bank, have sought more time to launch the service. Rocket, Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd’s (DBBL) mobile banking service, is still in the testing phase.

upay has asked Bangladesh Bank (BB) for an additional two weeks.

“We need another 15 days to launch the service due to system migration,” said Md Abdullah Al Mamoon, director of UCB Fintech. “We will inform the central bank about our delay soon.”

bKash, on the other hand, has requested three more months as it is facing server-related complications, according to a senior official of BB’s Payment Systems Department.

Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, bKash’s head of corporate communications and PR, said the provider is working with BB to adopt the latest version of the interoperability framework.

“We are emphasising strong authentication and layered security features to enable seamless transactions and handle disputes, if any,” he said, adding that the company hopes customers will be able to use the service in full “soon.”

Meanwhile, DBBL’s Rocket is waiting for the regulator’s nod. “We started live testing but are waiting for the central bank’s