The Premier Bank Ltd. has signed an agreement with Dhaka WASA on Real Time Online Bill Collection Agreement (Renewal) on December 06, 2015, Sunday WASA Bhaban, Dhaka.

 Mr. Dewan Anwarul Latif, Deputy Managing Director-Business of Premier Bank Ltd. and Mr. SDM Quamrul Alam Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director-Operation & Maintenance of Dhaka WASA has signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. Mr. Sayed Golam Ahammad, FCMA, Deputy Managing Director-Finance and Mr. Mohammed Emtiaz Uddin, Senior Vice President & Head of Corporate Banking Division of The Premier Bank Ltd. along with other senior officials of both the organizations were present on that ceremony. Under this agreement, subscribers of Dhaka WASA can pay their WASA bills through 93 branches of The Premier Bank Ltd. from anywhere of the country through online service.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman inaugurated the two day long SAARC Payment Council conference in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday..

The meeting is being held with the aim of cutting down on remittance bringing a huge population devoid of banking coverage within its ambit.

The conference is underway in Hotel Sea Royal Tulip Pearl with twenty representatives of the central banks of South Asian countries and is scheduled to end on Friday.

“Senior officials of the central banks of the eight SAARC nations have been exploring ways to simplify bank transactions. This time, they will discuss ways to reduce remittance costs to bring people outside bank coverage into the monetary system,” said Atiur Rahman.

He said though SAARC itself has shown lesser movement, apex banks of the SAARC countries meet regularly and learn from each other.

The SAARC Payment Council was formed during a meeting of the finance ministers in 2007.

With the latest Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) already in place, the governor called for initiatives in the setting up what is being described as the SAARC payment platform.

Atiur also pointed out that millions of taka was being transacted through ‘bKash’. If ‘bkash’ ran in foreign countries, then Bangladeshi expatriates living there could use ‘bkash’ to send money. This would have a double benefit as transaction will be quicker and low-cost remittance would also be possible.

The governor expressed that Bangladesh performed remarkably in the mobile banking sector and SAARC countries must share their experience regarding mobile financial service and agent banking as well.

Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Najnin Sultan, too, spoke at the function.

During last Ramadan, Western Union, along with NCC Bank made the wishes of two individuals come true under a promotion simply and appropriately titled “Wish come true”. After a selection process that covered the entirety of Bangladesh, individuals were chosen as winners based on their answers to the question of what are their biggest wishes. The two winners were selected based on the uniqueness, sincerity and warmth of their answers. Each winner received a considerable financial sum that will enable them to fulfill their special wish. The promotion was not only fitting for a time of giving such as Ramadan, but also strongly reflected the brand ethos “Moving Money for better” of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payment services.

Under the Western Union® Wish Come True promotion1, anyone in Bangladesh was eligible to having their special wish fulfilled and no purchase or transaction was required from them in order to qualify. A total of 2 winners were selected and ceremoniously celebrated after the promotion ended. The winners were Nahida Akter from Dhaka and Mahir Uddin from Comilla. and Western Union along with NCC bank, together made their wishes come true. 

Each of the winners under NCC Bank was invited to attend a celebratory event held at the head office of NCC Bank in Motijheel, where their prizes were handed over. Present at the event were high-ranking officials of Western Union and high-ranking officials of NCC Bank including  Managing Director & CEO, Golam Hafiz Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director,  Md. Fazlur Rahman, Deputy Managing Director, Abu Zafore Md. Saleh, and Senior Vice President, Head of Remittance & NRB Services Division, Md. Khairul Alam and Senior Vice President & Principal NCC Bank Trainning institute,, Jagadish Chandra Debnath, who spoke about the promotion and congratulated the winners.

BRAC Bank Limited and SME Foundation signed an agreement to facilitate SME loan to cricket bat manufacturing entrepreneurs.

Under the agreement, BRAC Bank will provide access to credit to micro and small entrepreneurs involved in cricket bat manufacturing in the southern region of the country. 

Entrepreneurs in Baldia Cricket Bat Cluster, Swarupkathi of Pirojpur, Narandrapur Cricket Bat Cluster of Jessore, Kotchandpur Cricket Bat Cluster of Jhenaidah and Rupsha and Fultola Cricket Bat Cluster of Khulna will get easy SME loan from BRAC Bank.

Mr. Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director and CEO, BRAC Bank, and Mr. Md. Safiqul Islam, Managing Director, SME Foundation, signed the agreement at BRAC Bank Head Office.

Mr. S. M. Shaheen Anwar, General Manager, SME Foundation, Nazeem Satter, DGM & Board Secretary, SME Foundation, Mr. Ishtiaq Mohiuddin, Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Syed Abdul Momen, Head of Small Business, and Zara Jabeen Mahbub, Head of Communication & Service Quality, BRAC Bank, were also present.

BRAC Bank relocated its Ganakbari Branch to a larger space to provide modern banking services to growing customers in the industrial area.

Mr. Selim R.F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank Limited, formally inaugurated the branch at Balibhadra Bazaar, Ganakbari, Dhamsuna in Ashulia. Mr. Firoz Ahmed Khan, Head of Retail Banking, Mr. Abedur Rahman Sikder, Head of Branch Banking, Zara Jabeen Mahbub, Head of Communication & Service Quality, and other senior officials were present.

On the occasion, Mr. Selim R.F. Hussain, said, “As a member of larger BRAC family, BRAC Bank always strives to reach out to more people and cover more areas. BRAC Bank’s best-in-the-class services will bring in new opportunity for business and individual customers in the industrial belt. The bank is committed to financial inclusion of the mass people in the journey of inclusive banking.”  

“With the opening, people of the industrial area will enjoy the latest and online banking solutions at their convenience. As we move here, we bring in the promise of ‘Delightful Customer Experience’ for people of the locality,” he added.

The new branch is located at Niot Salim Plaza, Balibhadra Bazaar, Ganakbari, Dhamsuna in Ashulia. The surrounding areas and locality wore a festive look on the occasion. Local elites, business people and a large number of customers attended the inauguration program. 

With 166 branches, SME/Krishi Branches and SME Service Centers, BRAC Bank now stand as one of the largest online banking network in Bangladesh.