PayPal coming to Bangladesh
Sonali Bank gets BB nod to sign deal
Services of US-based global online payments giant PayPal would soon be available for the people in Bangladesh as Sonali Bank has received permission from the central bank to sign a deal with the US company.
The Foreign Exchange Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank issued an order yesterday, directing state-owned Sonali Bank to sign deals with PayPal to make the global online payment system available in the country.
Access to PayPal will allow people and businesses to conveniently transfer money online, including remittances, and use it as an alternative to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders, by making payments through the internet.
Sonali Bank officials told reporters that the bank will now sign an agreement with Paypal after establishing a legal channel for transactions. Most of the formalities and processes in this regard have already been completed and the service will be launched soon, they said.
For small entrepreneurs, businesses and freelancers, PayPal is the most widely used method for making and receiving payment online and people in Bangladesh are facing difficulty as its services are still not available in the country, said sources.
The company has over 200 million customers and making payments or sending money through PayPal is free of charge. It also operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. Transactions in PayPal can be made online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo and Xoom, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies.
