Bangla QR has given Bangladesh’s digital payments industry what it lacked for years: a common platform that allows customers, merchants, banks, mobile financial service (MFS) providers and fintech companies to transact seamlessly instead of operating through fragmented payment networks.
For Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid, CEO of United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB), however, interoperability is only the starting point. Whether Bangla QR succeeds will depend less on its rollout than on whether it becomes the preferred way for millions of Bangladeshis to pay for everyday purchases.
“The infrastructure is now in place,” Rashid said in an interview with TIMES of Bangladesh. “The next phase is ensuring that Bangla QR becomes part of everyday life.”
Bangla QR enables customers to pay through their preferred banking or MFS application at any participating merchant, replacing proprietary QR systems that previously limited interoperability and forced merchants and consumers into separate payment ecosystems.
“For many years, fragmented proprietary QR systems limited interoperability and created unnecessary complexity for both customers and merchants,” Rashid said. “Bangla QR addresses that challenge.”
He cautioned, however, that launching the platform should not be confused with achieving its objective.
“The real success of Bangla QR will depend on sustained adoption and meaningful everyday usage across the country,” he said, adding that its long-term success should be judged not by launch statistics or transaction volumes but by the day it becomes the natural payment choice for millions of people..
Beyond interoperability
The introduction of a unified national QR standard is also changing how financial institutions compete.
With proprietary QR platforms phased out under Bangladesh Bank’s interoperable payment framework from 1 July, banks, MFS providers and fintech companies no longer compete through separate payment infrastructure. Instead, Rashid said, competition is shifting towards customer experience, innovation and the quality of digital services.
For UCB, that means expanding merchant acceptance, strengthening digital banking capabilities and delivering better customer experiences within the shared national payment framework.
He rejected suggestions that a common QR standard could reduce competition.
Instead, Rashid said financial institutions will increasingly differentiate themselves through stronger customer service, faster settlement, innovative financial solutions and other value-added services.
“Competition built on shared infrastructure ultimately benefits consumers, merchants and the overall financial ecosystem,” he said.
Mamdudur Rashid believes Bangla QR could also accelerate financial inclusion by lowering the cost of accepting digital payments for small businesses.
Neighbourhood grocery shops, tea stalls, pharmacies, street vendors, home-based businesses and merchants in local markets can begin accepting digital payments with a simple QR sticker or stand instead of investing in expensive point-of-sale terminals.
Each digital transaction also creates a verifiable financial record, enabling businesses to build a financial footprint that can improve their access to formal banking services and credit over time.
“Bangla QR is not only a payment solution but also a pathway toward financial inclusion and business formalisation,” he said.
From infrastructure to habit
Rashid believes the next challenge is behavioural rather than technological.
While Bangla QR is built on internationally recognised security standards supported by secure authentication, encrypted communications, transaction monitoring and the cybersecurity controls of participating institutions, technology alone will not persuade consumers and merchants to move away from cash.
Customers should verify the merchant’s name before confirming payments and remain vigilant against fraud, while banks must continue investing in cybersecurity and public awareness, he said.
Merchant confidence, he added, will grow as businesses experience faster settlements, secure transactions and increasing customer acceptance.
That places a responsibility on financial institutions to provide simple merchant onboarding, reliable support and continuous engagement so businesses can integrate digital payments into their daily operations with confidence.
Rashid said widespread adoption would also depend on simplified account opening, electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC), agent banking, merchant support programmes, reliable digital connectivity and stronger digital literacy.
Equally important, he said, is sustained collaboration among regulators, banks, fintech companies, telecom operators and merchants to build a truly inclusive digital payments ecosystem.
For Mamdudur Rashid, the measure of Bangla QR’s success is ultimately simple.
“When Bangla QR becomes the natural payment choice for millions of Bangladeshis,” he said, “that is where real transformation begins.”
