Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank governor, launches Bank Asia's e-wallet service in partnership with AlertPay at Hotel Purbani in Dhaka yesterday, while A Rouf Chowdhury, chairman of the Bank , looks on. Md Mehmood Husain, president and managing director, was also present.

Freelancers and IT exporters will now receive their payments from foreign buyers without any hassle, as AlertPay yesterday made foray into Bangladesh by launching online payment service in partnership with Bank Asia Ltd.

The tie-up with the Canada-based firm has helped the local bank become Bangladesh's first financial institution to introduce an easy online payment gateway service that analysts say will revolutionise e-commerce in the country.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service at Hotel Purbani in the city.

The service, first of its kind in Bangladesh, will allow the country's growing IT freelancers to bring their dollars deposited in the accounts with AlertPay in any of their bank accounts in the country through Bank Asia at a low cost.

Md Mehmood Husain, president and managing director of Bank Asia, said a huge number of youth are now earning foreign currencies through outsourcing as freelancers.

They work for different international organisations, mainly on data entry, data processing, offshore IT services, and business process outsourcing.

He said their earnings are deposited in the accounts of different online payment gateway service providers. Till now, institutional channel for inward remittance for the freelancers was limited.

"We hope this facility will help induce the potential freelancers to work earnestly and encourage other talents to venture for such freelancing, thereby increasing the inflow of foreign remittance, and that too through banking channel," said Husain.

The central bank governor said, through the online service people or institutions would be able to bring their export proceeds easily against exporting non-physical services.

Such services include data entry, data processing, data digitisation, animation and multimedia, software developing and customisation, web-design, mobile application developing, and freelance outsourcing of graphic design.

Rahman said they have taken various steps so that the freelancers and IT service exporters can bring the money they have earned through outsourcing.

He said freelancers would primarily be able to bring $500 at a time to the country through online payment gateway service provider like AlertPay.

"But if necessary, we will consider extending this limit on observation of real income flow," he said.

There are 8,000 to 10,000 IT freelancers in the country, earning $7 million to $8 million a year. They accounted for 20-25 percent of the country's software exports, said Anir Chowdhury, policy adviser of the Access to Information project under the Prime Minister's Office.

Bangladesh earned $15.51 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year through IT-enabled services, according to Export Promotion Bureau.

He said the AlertPay service would revolutionise e-commerce in the country.

At the same event, Bank Asia also launched Express Cash, a mobile-based money transfer service, to help people send and receive cash within the country.

It makes Bank Asia the 10th private commercial bank to launch the system, which, officials said will bring the country's 80 percent unbanked people under the umbrella of modern banking.

Husain said “Express Cash” is easier and faster domestic remittance service. "It is independent of any specific mobile companies. This is fully web-based, secured and quick to deliver."

A Rouf Chowdhury, chairman of Bank Asia, said the Bank wants to change the scenario of the country's banking system, as Bangladesh's 80 percent people still cannot take banking services.

"How much we will profit is not the main objective of the Bank. We really want to take services to the people," he said.

Dasgupta Asim Kumar, executive director of the central bank, said the central bank has allowed 17 banks to introduce mobile banking.

The rest seven banks will have to launch the service by March this year, he said.

He said mobile banking has not lived up to the expectation. "Only 4 lakh people have registered so far for mobile banking, whereas the country has more than 8.5 crore mobile phone users."

The banker urged banks to keep the service charge at a level that encourages people to transact money through mobile phone.

The BB governor also asked Bank Asia to open 'Express Cash' service points in remote areas.

Md Ahsan Ullah, another executive director of the BB, Rumee Hossain, audit committee chairman of Bank Asia, and Syed Nazimuddin, senior executive vice president of the Bank, were also present.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 16th March 2012