The pandemic has accelerated the trend of digital payment across Bangladesh, as people nowadays prefer more cashless payments in fear of contracting the virus. Thus, to strengthen the penetration of digitalization and enhance the technology solution, Grameenphone has collaborated with Upay, an emerging digital financial service provider and a subsidiary of United Commercial Bank Limited, on June 24, 2021, at The Renaissance Hotel Dhaka.
Through the partnership, Grameenphone will provide innovative data solutions which will allow upay users to use the application without internet charge. Moreover, when the users register by using Grameenphone numbers, they will enjoy extra data of 500MB and up to BDT 50 cash reward.
On this occasion, Kazi Mahboob Hassan, Chief Business Officer, Grameenphone, said, “Most people nowadays feel safe conducting financial transactions through digital means as they are hesitant to handle bills as COVID-19 survives on surfaces. The transformation from cash to cashless transactions boosted digital payments, strengthening the penetration of digitalization nationwide. As of May 2021, 30-35% of financial transactions were carried out through digital platforms. The trend of cashless payments is putting pressure on all financial organizations, including MFS. And these organizations need to have access to innovative resources and solutions to tackle the increased number of digital payments.”
“As a responsible company with the aim of connecting people to matter the most, we are pleased to collaborate with Upay and provide our innovative service to them. We hope that our innovative solution will strengthen upay infrastructure alongside help the users to continue conducting cashless payments conveniently,” he added.
Sydul H Khandaker, Managing Director and CEO of upay, said, “We are very excited to be partnering with Grameephone to bring this innovative offer for our customers on the GP network. Through this initiative, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, we have addressed a long-standing pain point of customers. Sometimes, the users want to conduct transactions through the app, but either the data package is expired, or the customer may don’t have a subscription to any data packs to use the app. This offer will bring a delightful experience for our customers as they can now able to use the upay app without any data charge. This is the beginning of our collaboration with the Grameenphone. We strongly believe that this collaboration will continue and bring further benefits to the customers and contribute in terms of socio-economic development of the country.”
The partnership was signed by Kazi Mahboob Hassan, Chief Business Officer, Grameenphone and Sydul H Khandaker, Managing Director and CEO of upay. Besides, other high officials were present during the event including, Md. Nasar Yusuf, Director Head of Prime Accounts, Business; Grameenphone and ATM Tahmiduzzaman, Member, Board of Directors, United Fintech Company Limited (upay), Md. Nur-E-Alam Siddiquee, Chief Financial Officer, Ziaur Rahman, Chief Strategy Officer, Mahbubur Rahman, Chief Market Development Officer of upay.
