Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur on Wednesday announced the government’s decision to privatise Nagad, a leading mobile financial services (MFS) provider, to strengthen competition in the sector.
The announcement was made at the panel discussion, titled ‘The Role of FinTech in Building a Cashless Economy’ in the ‘Cashless Bangladesh Summit–2025’, organised by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) at a city hotel.
Nagad, currently operated by the Bangladesh Post Office, will be separated from the postal system, with a technology company expected to become the main shareholder.
“The Post Office does not have the capacity to run Nagad effectively. Bringing in private investors will help rebuild the platform and make it a strong competitor in the MFS market,” Mansur noted.
The governor mentioned that an advertisement regarding the privatisation is likely to be published within a week.
Md Sharafat Ullah Khan, director of the Payment Systems Department at Bangladesh Bank, stated that the central bank would introduce incentives to encourage digital transactions across the banking sector.
“We aim to create a cashless system. Transaction costs must be transparent, and institutions failing to adapt may lose market share,” he added.
The event was also attended by senior officials from banks and fintech companies, including Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank PLC; Ali Ahmed, chief commercial officer of bKash Limited; Zakia Sultana, director of Mastercard; and Adnan Imtiaz Halim, chairman of Sheba Platform.