Agents and users of mobile financial service provider bKash have been facing trouble in money transfer for the last one week.

They even do not know what is going wrong with the service.

bKash, a subsidiary of BRAC Bank, however, said a system upgrade has caused temporary disruptions in some areas.

“We're carrying out maintenance work that has created temporary sufferings,” Kamal Quadir, chief executive officer of bKash, said yesterday.

“I talked to distributors. The problem is not alarming,” said Quadir. bKash made 70,000 transactions in last two days, almost similar to the number of usual transactions, he said.

He expected a fair solution to the problem by last night and a full recovery in next 4-5 days.

Quadir, however, claimed 95 percent of the users are getting bKash services properly.

But the field-level situation is different.

“We have been facing serious trouble in making payments and transferring money for the last one week. We've heard bKash's server cannot take the load,” said Mohammad Shahin, who runs an outlet as a bKash agent in Gulshan.

Shahin said he used to make 400-500 transactions a day, but the number has come down to 30-35 in the past few days.

“A girl has been trying to send money to her parents for the last few days, but failed,” he said.

Firoz, another agent in the same area, also echoed the same.

“The service was good when it was launched, but now transactions are being settled after a day or two,” said Firoz.

Sabuj Hossain, who is a bKash agent at Karwan Bazar in the city, said his mobile money transfer service was totally inactive yesterday as he could not make any transaction.

Abdullah, another agent at Karwan Bazar, also admitted such a disruption.

But these agents could not tell the users what the problem was, as they are not directly linked with bKash. Agents are appointed through distributors who maintain the link with bKash.

“We are facing trouble for the past eight days. The problem becomes acute during the daytime, but remains better at night (12-7am) when customer turnout is scarce,” said Sadequr Rahman, owner of Channel Enterprise, a distributor of bKash in Gulshan.

Rahman said bKash officials told them that it was a technical problem and will be solved soon.

Bangladesh's first mobile financial service provider bKash started its formal business in July 2011 with an aim to provide financial services through mobile phones to both the unbanked and banked people across the country.

A phone call or a text message can make payments and money transfers. Customers are able to receive electronic money into their bKash accounts through salary, loan, domestic remittance, and other disbursements. They also can cash out the electronic money at any of the hundreds of agents assigned by bKash.

Now bKash has 15,000 agents and five lakh registered users across the country.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/20-Sep-12

Tax receipts counted in four days of the weeklong income tax fair have exceeded the National Board of Revenue's total collection from last year's fair.

NBR collected Tk 428 crore in tax, compared to last year's total collection of Tk 414 crore, the tax authority said in a statement yesterday.

The NBR fair last year took place in seven divisional cities.

The increase in revenue can be attributed to the huge turnout of taxpayers and the launch of the fair in 11 districts along with the seven division cities.

“Taxpayers' crowd continued for the fourth day. They came to use various services, including getting new TIN (taxpayer identification number) and submitting tax returns," the NBR said.

Some 40,562 taxpayers submitted returns at the fair and 7,262 received TINs. The program remains open from 10am to 5pm.

Last year, 62,272 people submitted returns and 10,041 new TINs were issued.

The fair began on September 16, adding Mymensingh, Gazipur, Faridpur, Comilla, Noakhali, Jessore, Kushtia, Patuakhali, Bogra, Pabna and Dinajpur to its coverage along with the seven divisional cities.

The Officers' Club venue in Dhaka helped the tax collector secure Tk 402 crore out of Tk 428 crore with 22,447 returns being submitted.

The fair, the third of its kind, will end on September 22 in divisional cities and on September 20 in the districts.

The NBR has opened 36 booths to receive tax returns, 16 booths for TIN issuance and 20 "help desks" to inform taxpayers about their tax payment circles and other details at Officers' Club.

Sonali and Janata banks also have eight booths to facilitate direct tax deposits. The tax authority has also opened a designated corner for e-payment to let people know about procedures of paying tax online.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/20-Sep-12

Md. Abdul Jalil Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO of Mercantile Bank, speaks at a training session for the executives of the Bank at Mercantile Bank Training Institute in Dhaka recently.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/19-Sep-12

Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, Chairman of Standard Bank Limited, inaugurates the 71st branch of the Bank at Zamir Khan Complex, Kanchpur Bus Stand in Narayangonj recently.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/19-Sep-12

Engr. Mustafa Anwar, acting Chairman, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, speaks at the inaugural ceremony of ‘Home Country Abroad, Three Months of Cordial Services’ at the Islami Bank Tower in Dhaka recently.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) recently launched a special service on ‘Home Country Abroad, Three Months of Cordial Services.’

Engr. Mustafa Anwar, acting Chairman, IBBL inaugurated the programme through releasing balloons at Islami Bank Tower recently, said a press release.

Humayun Bokhteyar, Director, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director, Moulana Abdus Shaheed Naseem, Member, Shari’ah Supervisory Committee, Mohd. Shamsul Haque, Md. Habibur Rahman, Md. Nurul Islam, Mohammad Abul Bashar, Syed Abdullah Mohammed Saleh, A.K.M. Abdul Malek Chowdhury and Md. Mahbub-ul-Alam were present.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/19-Sep-12