Bangladesh Bank Launches e-Payment Credit Facility Up to Tk 10,000

💡 Dhaka, Bangladesh — Bangladesh Bank (BB) has introduced an instant, end-to-end digital ‘e-Payment Credit’ facility of up to Tk 10,000 to help eligible customers meet essential and recurring digital payment obligations during temporary liquidity constraints.

🤝 Under the new facility, banks will provide fee-based credit instead of interest-based lending for payments such as utility bills, mobile recharge, educational fees, healthcare expenses, tolls and tickets, taxes and government service fees, deposit instalments and insurance premiums.

📋 According to a circular issued by the Banking Regulation and Policy Department-1 (BRPD-1) on Sunday, the facility will be available for credit amounts ranging from Tk 50 to Tk 10,000, with applicable fees depending on the repayment tenure of seven, 15 or 30 days.

💰 Fee Structure and Repayment

📊 For credit of Tk 7,001-10,000, for example, the maximum fees will be:

• 📅 Tk 35 for seven days
• 📅 Tk 70 for 15 days
• 📅 Tk 130 for 30 days

✅ The loan principal and applicable fee will have to be repaid on the due date — the eighth, 16th or 31st day from the date of disbursement, depending on the selected tenure.

🚫 Importantly, the credit can only be used for direct payment to designated billers through approved digital channels and cannot be converted into cash, transferred to a customer’s account or added to a wallet — preventing misuse of the facility for unproductive purposes.

✅ No additional fee, interest, prepayment, early settlement or foreclosure charge will be imposed if the credit is repaid on or before the due date. In case of default, a penalty not exceeding the daily service fee applicable to the initial tenure may be charged for each overdue day, subject to the ceiling based on the 30-day fee for the relevant credit limit.

🏛 Regulatory Framework and Customer Protection

📊 Bangladesh Bank said all applicable regulations concerning loan classification, provisioning, accounting treatment, write-off, customer protection and other prudential requirements will apply to the facility. Banks will also have to clearly disclose the key terms and conditions, including the nature and amount of credit, tenure, applicable fee and repayment mechanism, before obtaining customers’ consent.

📱 The central bank has instructed banks to use alternative digital credit-scoring models and determine risk-based credit limits under board-approved policies. Customer onboarding will be conducted through approved digital channels using registered mobile numbers, with identity verification through OTP along with two-factor or multi-factor authentication, or other secure mechanisms approved by the bank.

🤝 Banks may engage mobile financial service providers (MFS), payment service providers (PSP), payment system operators (PSO) and other fintech companies as service delivery channels, subject to Bangladesh Bank regulations.

🌐 Data Localization Requirement

🔐 The circular also requires customers’ personally identifiable information and loan-related data to be stored in data warehouses located within Bangladesh, in line with applicable cloud computing and cybersecurity guidelines — a significant data sovereignty provision that aligns with Bangladesh’s broader push for domestic control over financial data.

⏱ Six-Month Pilot Before Commercial Launch

📈 However, banks will have to conduct a pilot implementation of the e-Payment Credit facility for at least six months before its commercial launch. Following evaluation and incorporation of feedback, banks will finalize their Product Programme Guidelines and launch the facility commercially with approval from their boards of directors.

🏛 The circular, issued under Section 45 of the Bank-Companies Act, 1991, came into force immediately.

🌏 Strategic Context for Bangladesh Digital Finance

📊 The e-Payment Credit facility marks a significant step in Bangladesh’s digital finance evolution. By allowing small-ticket digital credit without interest — structured instead as a fee-based product — the central bank has created an Islamic finance-compatible alternative to traditional micro-credit, potentially expanding access to short-term liquidity for the country’s large unbanked and underbanked population.

📱 For the country’s growing mobile financial services ecosystem — led by bKash, Nagad and other players — the new facility opens up a significant new product line. MFS providers can now partner with banks to deliver instant credit at the point of payment, addressing the long-standing pain point of customers facing temporary liquidity gaps when paying essential bills.

💰 For Bangladesh’s broader financial inclusion agenda, the facility has several strategic benefits:

• 👥 Inclusion: Extends short-term credit access to millions of marginal customers
• 🌿 Discipline: Fee-based structure promotes quick repayment, reducing NPL risk
• 📱 Digital push: Encourages migration of essential payments to formal digital channels
• 🛡 Protection: Strict customer protection and data localization provisions safeguard users
• 💪 Credit scoring innovation: Mandates alternative credit-scoring, building the foundation for future digital lending products

✅ With the pilot phase set to begin, banks and fintech partners will need to invest in real-time credit decisioning systems, fraud detection, and customer education. If successfully scaled, the e-Payment Credit facility could become a cornerstone of Bangladesh’s digital credit infrastructure — offering a template for responsible, fee-based micro-credit that balances access with discipline.