BB introduces e-Payment Credit facility up to TK 10,000

 
Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Sunday introduced an instant, end-to-end digital 'e-Payment Credit' facility of up to Taka 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 installments and insurance premiums.

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

For credit of Taka 7,001-10,000, for example, the maximum fees will be Taka 35 for seven days, Taka 70 for 15 days and Taka 130 for 30 days, according to BSS report. 

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. 

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.

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. 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.