ICT - Bangladesh Business News

'Financial Sector must get ready to face the Fintech tide'

BBN Desk — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 03:52:05 +0000

Bangladesh Bank former Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Financial sector needs to focus on Fintech i.e. developing ICT-based products and services for the tech-savvy customers, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Atiur Rahman has said.

“At the same time, human resources need to be developed accordingly so that it may cater the demand effectively and efficiently,” Dr. Rahman said while presenting a keynote paper on “Finance Sector in New Economy: Empowering the Finance Workers” on Wednesday at the second day of the “5th UNI APRO Commerce and Finance Joint Conference” held in Jakarta.

Dr. Kun WardanaAbyoto, Director of UNI Apro ICTS moderated the session. Panel members for the session were- IppeiOshima from Zenshinren Japan, President of FIEUN Nepal K. C. Ganesh,General Treasurer of SBEU Singapore Bobby Tay and Andrew Lo, CEO of Sarawak Employees Union, according to message.

Technology is pivotal to the ‘New Economy,’ the former BB governor said, adding that ICT is obliterating traditional boundaries and redefining assumptions about business and economy.

“Bangladesh weathered global financial crisis better than many developed countries mainly for its financial inclusion strategy using digital technology,” Dr. Rahman explained.

He also said the country has witnessed phenomenal growth of Fintech startups making best use of ICT and talented pool of young entrepreneurs.

“These Fintech entities have been partnering with conventional financial institutions to take the financial services to the bottom of the societal pyramid .He also added that finance workers now must harness the ICT based solutions to reach these customers and cope with the emerging challenges.”

When discussing the Bangladesh experience regarding digitization of the financial sector, Dr. Rahman inferred that the digitization drive in Bangladesh has been led by banks under the prudent guidance of the central bank of the country.

He also said the central bank in Bangladesh has developed state of the art payment and settlement systems platforms, as well as an enabling legal and regulatory framework.

He pointed out that the early rewarding outcomes of this drive are already visible. Number of MFS clients has reached over 40 million in just 6 years and has reached virtually all population segments including those in far flung remote locations.

Similarly Agent Banking in Bangladesh is flourishing (almost 1 million accounts) as banks have accepted it as a cost saving approach to reach the unbanked. Bangladesh Bank is also working on ensuring ‘Interoperability’ of the DFS providers which will further improve the service delivery mechanism.

About human resource development for the finance industry in the ‘new economy’, Dr. Rahman pointed out that human capital development requires wider collaboration among industry, academia, professional bodies and regulators.

He also argued for human capital to be humane focusing on better services to the un-served and underserved.
This requires a change in mindset of the bankers, he noted.

Industry can work with universities and training centers to prepare graduates while the Central Bank can be mid-wife to bridge the gaps between the industry and academia. “Let’s continue this journey, not alone but as a caravan.”

BBN/SSR/AD

Bangladesh’ banks allowed issuing ‘Freelancer Card’

BBN Desk — Wed, 03 May 2017 04:07:38 +0000

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Country’s commercial banks are now allowed to issue ‘Freelancer Card’ having dual-currency units with features of being prepaid from abroad.
On receipt of the payment, up to eligible portion of the Exporters' Retention Quota (ERQ) might be credited at the options of beneficiaries in foreign currency unit of the card while the remainder mandatorily in local currency unit after conversion at prevailing exchange rate, according to a circular issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, on Tuesday.
The balance held in foreign currency unit of the card as ERQ is usable for payment, through usual banking channel, on international current account transactions for bona fide business expenses including legitimate expenses for personal purposes, it added.
According to the notification, outward remittances from the foreign currency balance are subject to fulfillment of taxes payment obligations, if any.
Inward receipts exceeding US$ 10,000 or equivalent are subject to declaration on Form-C (ICT).
The banks will have to report the transactions to the central bank in relevant statement/schedule and online reporting system, mentioning appropriate code relevant to ICT/computer services.
The Authorised Dealers (ADs) in Bangladesh are allowed to repatriate inward remittances against small value service exports in non-physical form, including ICT-related services, through online payment gateway service providers.
“To widen the scope for repatriation of ICT (information and communication technology) related payments, it has been decided that ADs may provide facilities to credit inward remittances received in international card number/account against the services provided by individual developers/freelancers,” it noted.
Talking to BBN, a BB senior official said it will help increase the earnings from software exports by the end of this fiscal year.
He also said the central bank had earlier relaxed the regulations in support of the ICT sector to help it achieve the software export target of US$5.0 billion by 2021.
Now, the banks are allowed to remit from $25,000 to $30,000 on behalf of the IT or software firms in a calendar year, he explained.

BBN/SSR/AD

Facebook to increase UK employees by 50pc

BBN Desk — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 07:08:10 +0000

London, UK (BBN)-Facebook will expand its presence in the UK by 50 percent when it opens its new London headquarters in 2017, the US technology giant has announced.
It will hire 500 additional employees, including engineers, marketers, project managers and sales staff, reports BBC.
"The UK remains one of the best places to be a tech company," said its London-based executive, Nicola Mendelsohn.
Facebook's new headquarters will be in Fitzrovia at a site that is currently undergoing redevelopment.
The majority of the new staff will be based there.
Mendelsohn will announce the expansion at the Confederation of British Industry conference later.
'HIGH-SKILLED JOBS'
"Many of those new roles will be high-skilled engineering jobs as the UK is home to our largest engineering base outside of the US," said Mendelsohn, who is vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Facebook.
The company said some of its most important innovations had been developed in the UK, including Aquila, a solar-powered, unmanned plane that provides internet connectivity to remote regions.
That project is located at Facebook's only UK site outside London, in Somerset.
Engineers at Facebook's London office are continuing the development of Workplace, a platform devised to improve communications between workers within a business, launched last month.
There has been speculation following the UK referendum vote to leave the EU that international companies may reconsider investing in the UK.
However, Facebook's announcement comes just a week after Google announced a £1bn investment in a new London headquarters and the creation of 3,000 new jobs by 2020.
London's mayor, Sadiq Khan welcomed the Facebook news.
"Facebook's decision to expand in London is further evidence that London's strength as a tech hub keeps on growing," he said.
"The capital's vibrant tech scene is the envy of Europe and Facebook's continuing commitment is another sign that London is open to talent, innovation and entrepreneurship from all four corners of the world."
BBN/SS/ANS

Facebook warns advertising growth to slow

BBN Desk — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 04:42:01 +0000

Menlo Park, California (BBN)-Facebook has warned growth in advertising revenues will slow "meaningfully" in the next few months as it tries to avoid alienating users.
The social media giant's chief financial officer David Wehner said there was a limit on the number of ads it could put on people's timelines, reports BBC.
Shares fell 7% in after-hours trading.
The comments came as Facebook reported profits of $2.4bn (£1.9bn) between July and September, up 166% from the same period in 2015.
Most of Facebook's revenues came from adverts, of which mobile accounted for 84%.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described the results as "another good quarter".
Nearly 1.1 billion people now log onto Facebook on their mobiles every day, compared with 894 million a year ago.
But it has not been all plain sailing for the firm. In the past few months it has apologised for unfairly removing certain content, and admitted it overestimated how much video users have watched for the last two years.
Meanwhile Whatsapp, the messaging app Facebook bought for $19bn in early 2014, has been warned by European privacy watchdogs about sharing user data with its parent company.
'OPPORTUNITY'
Facebook expected to add fewer adverts and for "ad revenue growth rates [to] come down meaningfully" in 2017, Mr Wehner said on Wednesday.
Analysts argued it would force the business to invest in other ways of making money.
"The traditional engine of their growth will slow down, but Mr Wehner didn't give numbers on what it could make from new revenue streams," said Martin Garner, an analyst at CCS Insight.
Josh Olson, an analyst at Edward Jones, said the group could still make more money from charging advertisers higher prices and through adding new customers.
"We have been down this road before with Facebook, they have invested something like this in mobile and we have seen it pay off. So we are looking at it as an opportunity," he said.
Facebook is trialling a number of other potential money-making projects including a marketplace that allows users to sell items, and is experimenting with chat 'bots' in its messaging app, with a view to companies using them as a way to communicate with customers.
BBN/AI/ANS

World Bank president praises bKash operations in Bangladesh

BBN Desk — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 02:42:27 +0000

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim visited bKash Head Office on October 17 with his team.
Dr. Kim had an engaged discussion understanding how bKash contributes in digitalizing Bangladesh's economy and impacts the development of the country at the grass root level.
He was accompanied by World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Mr. Paul M Romer and World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region Ms. Annette Dixon. World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh Mr. Qimiao Fan, Regional Director, IFC South Asia Mr. Mengistu Alemayehu and Country Manager, IFC Ms. Wendy Werner were also present at the occasion.
The World Bank chief praised bKash for its overwhelming success in advancing the financial inclusion vision into a reality for the marginal population of the country.
He expressed his ideas of bKash partnering with global technology providers for opening worldwide transaction opportunities to further enhance the inclusive agenda.
Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash, briefed Dr. Kim and his team how bKash evolved over last six years and praised the favorable government policy as well as Bangladesh Bank’s pragmatic guidelines that enabled bKash to reach millions of unbanked people of the country.
bKash Chairman Shameran Abed, Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam(retd) and Company Secretary & Chief Financial Officer Mr. Moinuddin Mohammed Rahgir were present from the bKash side.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is one of the four shareholders of bKash. The other three shareholders are BRAC Bank Ltd, Money in Motion LLC and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

BBN/SSR/AD

Hackers stole data from 500 million Yahoo users

BBN Desk — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 08:06:54 +0000

New York, NY (BBN)- Yahoo says hackers stole information from about 500 million users in what appears to be the largest publicly disclosed cyber-breach in history.
The breach included swathes of personal information, including names and emails, as well as “unencrypted security questions and answers”, reports BBC.
The hack took place in 2014 but has only now been made public.
Yahoo said it believed the attack was state-sponsored. The FBI has confirmed it is investigating.
The data taken includes names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and encrypted passwords, but not credit card data, Yahoo said.
News of a possible major attack on the technology firm emerged in August when a hacker known as "Peace" was apparently attempting to sell information on 200 million Yahoo accounts.
On Thursday, Yahoo confirmed the breach was far bigger than first thought.
Yahoo is recommending all users should change their passwords if they have not done so since 2014.
In July, Yahoo was sold to US telecoms giant Verizon for $4.8bn (£3.7bn).
Verizon told the BBC it had learned of the hack "within the last two days" and said it had "limited information".
It added: "Until then, we are not in position to further comment."
Yahoo said in a statement: "Online intrusions and thefts by state-sponsored actors have become increasingly common across the technology industry."

BBN/SSR/AD

Kaspersky suspects more financial-markets hacking after Bangladesh

BBN Desk — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 19:28:14 +0000

New York, NY (BBN) - The founder of cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab suspects more attacks on financial targets after hackers recently stole funds from Bangladesh’s central bank and moved the Russian ruble’s exchange rate.
“Criminal innovations that we see in some parts of the world become massive because criminals communicate" and spread techniques around the world, Eugene Kaspersky said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. “The most professional cyber-criminals are looking for new types of victims -- stock exchanges, for example."
Attacks of this kind are akin to cyber-terrorism, Kaspersky said. Technology that cracks banks’ safety systems is available for purchase, and it’s possible that some individuals hire professionals to hack financial systems to paralyze them, rather than to profit from the attack, he said.
Global losses from hacking and undesired spamming exceed $100 billion a year, according to Kaspersky Lab. Some advanced attacks, such as using malware to make ATMs distribute all their cash, were designed by Russian-speaking hackers, but have spread to the U.S., Europe and Asia, the company said.
BBN/SSR/AD

100-foot asteroid to buzz earth next month

BBN Desk — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 10:17:35 +0000

California, US (BBN)-An asteroid as long as a basketball court will give earth a close shave next month - though scientists aren’t sure just how close.
The near-earth asteroid 2013 TX68, which is thought to be about 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter, will zoom past our planet on March 5, reports, Discovery news.
The space rock could come as close as 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) — less than five per cent of the distance from Earth to the moon — or stay up to nine million miles (14.5 million km) away during the flyby, NASA officials said.
“The variation in possible closest-approach distances is due to the wide range of possible trajectories for this object, since it was tracked for only a short time after discovery,” NASA officials wrote in a statement Wednesday February 3.
There is no danger that 2013 TX68, which was first spotted in October 2013, will collide with Earth on this pass, researchers said.
However, there is an extremely slight chance — less than 1 in 250 million — of an impact on September 28, 2017 and even lower odds during flybys in 2046 and 2097.
“The possibilities of collision on any of the three future flyby dates are far too small to be of any real concern,” Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for NEO Studies at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in the same statement.
“I fully expect any future observations to reduce the probability even more.”
Just two years ago, 2013 TX68 flew by Earth, at a distance of 1.3 million miles (2 million km).
Scientists think the near-Earth object that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February, damaging buildings and injuring more than 1,000 people, measured about 65 feet (20 m) across.
If 2013 TX68 or another asteroid of its size were to slam into Earth, it would probably explode in an airburst about twice as energetic as the Chelyabinsk event, NASA officials said.
BBN/TR/AD

WTO concludes $1.3 trillion IT trade deal

BBN Desk — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 04:33:11 +0000

Nairobi, Kenya (BBN)- WTO members representing major exporters of information technology products agreed on Wednesday at its Tenth Ministerial Conference, in Nairobi, on the timetable for implementing a landmark deal to eliminate tariffs on 201 IT products valued at over $1.3 trillion per year.
Negotiations were conducted by 53 WTO members, including both developed and developing countries, which account for approximately 90 per cent of world trade in these products, a WTO statement said.
However, all 162 WTO members will benefit from the agreement, as they will all enjoy duty-free market access to the markets of the members eliminating tariffs on these products. The list of 201 products was originally agreed by the ITA participants in July 2015.
This breakthrough follows months of intensive negotiations among the ITA participants. Their review of “draft schedules” involved a process whereby each of them indicated over what timeframe and how they intended to implement the elimination of duties on these products.
For every product on the list, ITA participants have negotiated the level of reductions and over how many years it will fully eliminate the tariffs.
As a result of these negotiations, approximately 65 per cent of tariff lines will be fully eliminated by 1 July 2016. Most of the remaining tariff lines will be completely phased out in four stages over three years. This means that by 2019 almost all imports of the relevant products will be duty free.
“I am delighted to mark this breakthrough here today at the Ministerial Conference”, said WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo. “This is a very significant achievement. Annual trade in these 201 products is valued at $1.3 trillion per year, and accounts for approximately 10% of total global trade.”
“Eliminating tariffs on trade of this magnitude will have a huge impact. It will support lower prices — including in many other sectors that use IT products as inputs — it will create jobs and it will help to boost GDP growth around the world”.
Among the products covered in this agreement are new-generation semi-conductors, GPS navigation systems, medical products which include magnetic resonance imaging machines, machine tools for manufacturing printed circuits, telecommunications satellites and touch screens.
The agreement also contains a commitment to work to tackle non-tariff barriers in the IT sector, and to keep the list of products covered under review to determine whether further expansion may be needed to reflect future technological developments.
The agreement is an expansion of the 1996 Information Technology Agreement which involves 82 members.
In 2012, members recognized that technological innovation had advanced to such an extent that many new categories of IT products were not covered by the existing agreement. Negotiations began in 2012 to expand the coverage of the accord.
BBN/SSR/AD

SureCash showcasing mobile financial services at fair

BBN Desk — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 08:35:38 +0000

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – SureCash, a mobile banking company, is working to highlight its different types of mobile financial services at the Banking Fair Bangladesh-2015 in a bid to bring the unbanked people in the banking network.

The company is now operating the mobile banking with taking assistance from six commercial banks, SM Salah Uddin, head of sales of SureCash, told the BBN during the ongoing fair.

The six partner banks of the company are First Security Islami Bank Ltd, Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd, National Bank Ltd, NCC Bank Ltd, Ansar VDP Unnayan Bank and Rupali Bank Ltd.

The banks has taken approval to operate mobile banking from the central bank, but SureCash is now providing all types of MFS related service to the clients.

Under the SureCash operation, more than 30,000 retail agents are ready to settle the clients’ transaction and it has more than 70 payment affiliates including bill payments, school fee and purchases.

The clients will be able to send money, save money, pay bills, make purchase, foreign remittance disbursement under the SureCash channel.

The company has introduced bio-metric authentication to identify the clients who has no literacy knowledge.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the five-day long banking fair on Bangla Academy premises in Dhaka on Tuesday aiming to build a banking nation through boosting the ongoing financial inclusion campaign in Bangladesh.

The fair will be wrapped up through a closing ceremony this evening.

BBN/RZ/ANS