The Story of bKash: Revolutionizing Financial Services in Bangladesh

bKash – Bangladesh’s first mobile payment service that is generating millions of US dollars every day.

bKash is Bangladesh’s first mobile payment service. It took years to figure out what it was. The name bKash does have a meaning. The word bKash means Bangladesh and kash means cash. The name is beautiful and meaningful and it is not easy to find this little name.

bKash helps you send money instantly using your mobile phone. Let’s say you live in Dhaka and you want to send 5,000 taka to someone in Chittagong at 5 pm. Before bKash comes along, you have to wait for the next working day of the bank.

Well, if it is Thursday, then you are out of luck. You had to wait till Sunday or find some friends or send money through flexiload or mobile recharge. But then you have to convert your friend’s mobile recharge into cash. And the dealer does that.

Then came bKash, this app that allows a user to send money from the tip of their finger.

The types of bKash accounts are-

• Personal
• Merchant
• Agent

The first five transactions are free of charge and five taka per transaction

When it is only for you, a personal account is required.

If it is for business, a merchant account is required.

There are some terms or things you need to understand in bKash-

Cash in – What you get on your mobile is cash or cash in.

Cash out – When you withdraw cash from an agent or BRAC Bank ATM, it is cash or cash out.

Now, how to open a bKash account?

To open a bKash account, you need the following:

• A photo of yourself
• Your voter ID
• Your mobile phone number

These are the initial requirements for opening an account. Below is the link to bKash-

https://www.bkash.com/new_account

BKash Services-

BKash provides the following services-

• Transfer Money: From mobile to BRAC Bank account within Bangladesh.
• Pay Bill: Pay electricity bill
• Pay for bKash services
• Mobile Recharge: You can use bKash.
• Send Money: Send money to anywhere in Bangladesh through bKash.
• Remittance from outside Bangladesh.
• Cash In
• Cash Out

List of Services :

https://www.bkash.com/products-services

Countries from which remittances can be received through bKash:

• Singapore
• Kuwait
• America
• Sweden
• Malaysia

List of country services:

https://www.bkash.com/remittance

BKash Company

BKash was launched in 2011 as a subsidiary of BRAC Bank, part of a prestigious group founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed.

• Company CEO: Kamal Quader
• Company Name: bKash Limited
• Company Website: https://bkash.com
• Parent: BRAC Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates (Microsoft)

International Acclaim: Fortune Magazine ranked bKash among the top 50 companies in their “The World Changers” list in 2017.

https://fortune.com/change-the-world/2017/bkash

• Revenue: $84 million per day
• Annual revenue: $30 billion per year

According to CEO Quader:

“We have Facebook experience sitting in Bangladesh”

src:https://www.euromoney.com/article/b17dwmpny7nzdw/bkash-builds-a-payments-system-for-the-future

According to Tekkhala:

“Never underestimate anyone. This is why Bill Gates invested and Fortune made this ranking.”

What we learn from this:

Note: Investors, Bangladesh has huge business potential. This country has great opportunities for new ideas.

Author: Sadia