Bangladesh Bank Waives All Bangla QR Charges: Zero Interchange Fee from October 1

Dhaka, August 10, 2026 — Bangladesh Bank has waived all inter-bank charges on Bangla QR transactions — setting the Interchange Reimbursement Fee (IRF) to zero, repealing the 1 percent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) mandate, and introducing new incentive payments for banks to encourage digital transactions — in the most aggressive push yet to expand cashless payments across the country.

📱 Three Major Changes

• ✅ IRF set to zero: No interchange fee between banks for Bangla QR transactions (previously 0.35-0.70%)
• ✅ MDR mandate repealed: July 1 instruction setting minimum 1% MDR withdrawn — acquiring institutions can negotiate or waive fees entirely
• ✅ New incentive scheme: Acquiring institutions get 0.10% + issuing institutions get 0.20% per transaction up to Tk 2,000

💰 How It Works in Practice

If a customer pays Tk 1,000 at a shop by scanning a Bangla QR code, neither the customer's bank nor the merchant's bank will deduct any amount as a transaction charge. The merchant receives the full Tk 1,000. Previously, banks and MFS providers charged an IRF ranging from 0.35 percent to 0.70 percent, and the July 1 MDR mandate added another 1 percent minimum.

The new incentive scheme applies to Bangla QR-based transactions up to Tk 2,000 processed through the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB) at merchant points of small and marginal product sellers and service providers:

• 🏢 Acquiring institution receives: 0.10% (Tk 1 per Tk 1,000)
• 🏢 Issuing institution receives: 0.20% (Tk 2 per Tk 1,000)
• 📅 Effective date: October 1, 2026
• 📅 Disbursement: Monthly

🛡️ Anti-Abuse Safeguards

Bangladesh Bank has built in comprehensive safeguards to prevent misuse of the incentive scheme:

• ⚠️ No transaction splitting: Single transactions cannot be deliberately split to qualify for incentives
• ⚠️ No failed/refunded transactions: Incentives not provided for failed, cancelled, reversed, refunded, charged-back, or disputed transactions
• 🔍 Monitoring required: Acquiring institutions must monitor and verify unusually high or unusual patterns
• 📜 Audit authority: BB retains right to verify and audit all transaction, settlement, and incentive records
• ⚖️ Recovery: Any incentive paid in error or excess will be recovered or adjusted
• ⚠️ Penalties: Non-compliant institutions may face penalties under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2024

🌏 Broader Context: Tk 100 Crore Fund + Cashless Bangladesh

These measures complement the government's broader "Cashless Bangladesh" initiative. Bangladesh Bank's board recently approved a Tk 100 crore fund dedicated to subsidising merchant charges for small traders. Last August, the Ministry of Local Government instructed all city corporations and municipalities to require Bangla QR integration for trade licence issuance and renewal. BB has also directed all banks, MFS providers, and PSPs to replace proprietary QR codes with standardised Bangla QR by June 30, 2026.

A steering committee headed by the central bank governor has been formed to oversee nationwide merchant onboarding and public awareness campaigns — building on the earlier announcement targeting 1 crore daily transactions (up from the current 1 crore per month).

✅ What This Means for Small Businesses

The zero-charge regime removes the single biggest barrier to Bangla QR adoption among small and marginal traders — who were reluctant to pay 1-1.7 percent in combined fees when their profit margins are already thin. With the incentive scheme actually paying banks to process small transactions, the economics of digital payment acceptance have flipped from a cost burden to a revenue opportunity for financial institutions — which should accelerate merchant onboarding dramatically.