বুধবার, ৩০ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০২৬, ০৫:৫৩ অপরাহ্ন
DHAKA, Sept 30, 2026 (BSS) – The daily transaction value through the country’s Bangla QR payment system has surged nearly five-fold to around Tk 143.54 crore in September from more than Tk 28 crore in June, reflecting rapid expansion of digital payments.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan disclosed the figures at a press conference at the BB headquarters here today.
He said the number of daily Bangla QR transactions also increased 3.5 times to around 3.5 lakh in September from about one lakh in June.
The sharp growth followed Bangladesh Bank’s decision to make Bangla QR the country’s unified interoperable QR payment standard and phase out proprietary QR codes from July 1, 2026.
The central bank has taken further measures to accelerate the use of Bangla QR payments, with the new arrangements coming into effect from October 1.
Under the new arrangements, merchants will receive instant settlement upon completion of a Bangla QR transaction.
Bangladesh Bank has also abolished the minimum 1 percent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for acquiring institutions and set the Interchange Reimbursement Fee (IRF) payable to issuing institutions at zero.
The central bank will provide incentives for merchant-point transactions of up to Tk 2,000 routed through the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB).
Acquiring institutions will receive an incentive of 0.10 percent, while issuing institutions will receive 0.20 percent per transaction.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the number of Bangla QR-enabled merchants has reached around 39 lakh across banks, mobile financial services (MFS) providers and payment service providers.
The average transaction value also increased to Tk 4,101 in September from Tk 2,800 in June, indicating growing use of Bangla QR for higher-value transactions alongside small retail payments.
Bangladesh Bank will further expand the system to person-to-person (P2P) transfers from November 1.
Under the P2P facility, customers will be able to transfer funds by scanning another person’s Bangla QR code through participating bank or MFS applications.
They will also be able to upload a saved QR image from their mobile phone’s photo gallery.
The central bank has also introduced measures to strengthen customer protection, including prompt refund mechanisms for failed transactions and formal dispute-resolution procedures.
Customers facing unresolved service-related problems will be able to contact the Bangladesh Bank helpline at 16236.
