The telecommunications ministry has directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to review the proposal to impose a charge on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) by the mobile banking service user. According to the BTRC proposal, it wants to impose the charge on the USSD code.

USSD is a protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider’s computers. Currently, operators provide free service to USSD code users, who do not need to pay to buy products through mobile transactions, check balance, and the like.

Currently, there are around 3.6 crore mobile banking users and most of them are Bkash subscribers. They currently pay Tk. 1.85 against Tk. 100 transfer charge. If the BTRC proposal comes into effect, the user will have to pay additional Tk. 0.85 for each 90 seconds session.

Regarding the BTRC proposal, corporate affairs officer Sheikh Monirul Islam said ultimately the user will have to bear the burden when they check their prepaid balance, send money, or buy products.

TIM Nurul Kabir, the secretary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh, argued that if the BTRC imposes a charge on USSD code users, the plan for the financial inclusion of Bangladesh Bank would not be successful, as it will burden the consumers with further costs.

However, the BTRC chairman said they would decide on a reasonable charge by discussing the matter with mobile operators.