Ekpay is providing e-payment services under the Aspire to Innovate (A2I) program run by the Government of Bangladesh.
'Ekpay' is providing services without a license without obtaining proper permission from Bangladesh Bank, which is reported to be a clear violation of the 'Payment and Settlement System Act-2024'.
This A2I program is being run by the Division of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in collaboration with UNDP. It has been conducted as a special program of the previous government's 'Digital Bangladesh' agenda.
This 'Ekpay' Payment System Operator (PSO) has been operating since 2019 without obtaining any license. But no person, organization or company can continue such financial services without obtaining proper license from Bangladesh Bank. Payment and Settlement Bill-2024 was passed in July 2024 for this service.
The banking regulator is operating the Bangladesh Payment and Settlement System Regulation-2024 without a license from the central bank.
In this regard, experts said, this platform has been doing business year after year by bypassing the Central Bank regulations. But the concerned department of the government is silent on this issue.
In October 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ICT advisor Sajib Wazed Joy inaugurated this payment system through the ICT Division.
The Aspire to Innovate (A2I) program developed this 'Alone' approach.
At2Air officials said that 'Ekpay' has been providing services for 78 departments under 147 government services. 5 banks, 9 mobile banking financial institutions and internet banking services are linked to this platform by the initiative of 3 banks.
PSOs do Tk. 2 to 3 crore financial transactions through 10,000 to 15,000 services per day.
In July this year, Ekpay applied for a license from the central bank for the first time to operate a digital payment system. But the application was rejected by the Payment System Division of the Central Bank as the application was not followed due process.
A senior official of the Central Bank, who has initial knowledge of the matter, said that 'Ekpay' applied to the Central Bank without following the proper rules, and it was rejected.
Then we tell them, before getting the license you should create a separate company and run the PSO on a limited scale. But 'Ekpay' has failed to form that company till date.
This payment system handles settlement with various banks. For this you have to earn trust and responsibility. But Ekpay has no license for this. Central bank regulations did not permit this operation.
When contacted, Central Bank Managing Director and Spokesperson Husna R Shikha said that 'Ekpay' had taken steps to obtain a license from the Central Bank. It applies for the Central Bank's No Objection Certificate to operate the payment system.
Husna and Shikha said that the central bank should follow proper procedures and instructions to operate this payment system. These instructions are now being implemented.
For this, the digital platform sought 120 days from the central bank.
In a written statement, the spokesperson said, the platform is managed under a ministry. No risk was created for that.
The purpose of this digital platform is to manage the transactions including utility bills, educational institution fees and fees and bills for availing various government services.
A senior PSO official said, 'Ekpay' has been running a monopoly business of providing government services. This digital platform is illegally developed under a division of Govt.
It is a service similar to Bangladesh Postal Department's 'Nagad'-style mobile financial service.
On condition of anonymity, an official said, a total of 4 digital payment institutions including 'Ekpay' and 'Ekshop' have been operating their institutions since the past years under the Aspire to Innovate (A2I) program. The government has fixed a fixed budget for these institutions every year. These initiatives were also planned for the private sector.
The Agency to Innovate (A2I) Bill 2023 was passed in July 2023. But the A2I project has yet to be managed by any agency. That's why 'Ekpay' didn't get a license.
Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan, Additional Secretary and Project Director, A2I Project, said it was an innovative innovation under A2I and the central bank was aware of 'Ekpay'.
AKM Fahim Mashroom, a business entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of 'BdJobs' and 'Today's Deal,' said many enterprises did not follow laws and regulations. The regulatory body could not do any work because of the political issues associated with it.
He said that since this digital payment is being managed under a ministry, the central bank could not bring it under any regulation like 'cash'. In this case, Bangladesh Bank should exercise its autonomy.
As 'Ekpay' monopolizes business on behalf of various government agencies, it has an impact on other PSOs.