BB issues show-cause notice to ITCL over Q-Cash disruption

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has issued a show-cause notice to Information Technology Consultants Limited (ITCL) over a disruption in its Q-Cash network that affected digital payment services at more than 30 banks.
The central bank has asked the company to explain why it attempted to migrate its system without prior approval and why financial penalties should not be imposed.

The notice was issued on Thursday after the regulator found preliminary evidence of legal violations.

The BB spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said action would be taken after reviewing the company's explanation.

The disruption affected ATMs, bank cards, POS machines, online payments, interbank transfers and mobile financial services, leaving customers unable to withdraw cash or make urgent transactions for more than 48 hours.

The trouble began after a payment dispute between ITCL and its UK-based software provider, Compass Plus, over around $550,000 in unpaid support fees.

Compass Plus later suspended the software licence remotely, disrupting services across the Q-Cash network.

The ITCL paid $135,000 on 6 October, allowing services to resume that night. It later paid another $118,000 and agreed to clear the remaining dues in instalments.

However, the central bank said clearing the dues and restoring services would not remove ITCL's responsibility for attempting to migrate its system without regulatory approval.