Nagad gets Visa 'Excellence in Fintech' award

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa, the global leader in payments solutions, has conferred Nagad, Bangladesh's disruptive mobile financial service provider, with the 'Excellence in Fintech Product Innovation 2022' award in recognition of its innovations to further the country's financial inclusion goals.

In three years of its existence, Nagad has introduced the electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) to Bangladesh leveraging the country's National Identity Card database.

Thanks to e-KYC, a mobile financial account can be opened without any paper documentation from one's smartphone -- a move that has slashed the financial sector's client onboarding costs substantially.

The drop in operational costs translated to lower tariffs for customers, a disruptive move for the industry. It also made the platform more affordable for the poor and low-income people.

To bring the feature phone users on board the e-KYC process, Nagad has come up with a separate process for them: a Nagad account can be opened in minutes by dialing *167# from the feature phone and setting a PIN.

This was a giant leap in Bangladesh's financial inclusion agenda.

And those with no Nagad account yet can also receive money from a Nagad account to their mobile number. When the Nagad account is opened, within three days, the amount received shows up in the balance. This is yet another contribution toward innovation in Bangladesh's financial sector and towards customer trust-building on the platform.

Today, thanks to Nagad's ease of use, lower charges, and inclusive strategy, it has leapfrogged the incumbents to become the preferred digital financial service provider of the masses and has racked up more than 65 million customers in just three and a half years.

Nagad is now building on this solid base to set up the country's first digital bank, which would be yet another contribution to technological advancement in Bangladesh's financial sector.

Tanvir A Mishuk, Founder and Managing Director of Nagad, said: "Nagad is constantly working to introduce revolutionary payment solutions to Bangladesh keeping the common and marginal people in mind. This Visa award will definitely inspire us to introduce more such solutions that will make people's lives easier."

Soumya Basu, Country Manager, Bangladesh, Nepal & Bhutan, Visa, said: "We are delighted to recognise Nagad's contribution through the 'Excellence in Fintech Product Innovation 2022' award and congratulate them."

Nagad and Visa jointly pioneered a solution a few months ago that allows consumers to use Nagad to transfer funds directly from their wallet to any bank account linked to a Visa card.

About Nagad Ltd (https://www.nagad.com.bd/)

Nagad Limited is one of the leading mobile financial services (MFS) in the payment industry of Bangladesh with 65 million registered customers and an average daily transaction of about USD 80 million. The digital payment platform is known as a successful public-private partnership between the Bangladesh Postal Department and the private sector. Inaugurated in 2019 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the people's republic of Bangladesh.