Metrorail and other utility payments will be integrated with the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited’s (BTCL) “Alaap Pay” wallet.
In order to give its customers access to a variety of utility payment options through a single window, BTCL has planned to introduce additional features.
“BTCL has future plans to integrate payment for services such as metrorail, flyover and bridges through Alaap Wallet,” BTCL Managing Director Md Anwar Hossain told BSS.
In addition to these, he stated that BTCL intends to implement Alaap Wallet for paying water and power bills.
According to BTCL executives who are aware of the action, they are discussing how they could provide the services with the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).
Additionally, they stated that BTCL already collaborates with many payment gateways. Bangladesh Bank approval is required for some bill payments.
They did emphasize, though, that Alaap Pay does not need Bangladesh Bank’s consent to make its own payments.
Initially, BTCL has developed its wallet Alaap Pay for the convenience of its customer for payment of their landphone bills.
In the meantime, the state-owned firm has taken the initiative to redesign its dialer “Alaap” application in the New Year 2025 in order to draw in more customers both domestically and internationally, after the widespread usage of OTT apps for voice, texting, and other services.
With this goal in mind, BTCL is planning to provide additional capabilities including voice broadcasting, bulk SMS, hosted IP phones, SMS, and cloud storage in addition to setting up a dedicated customer support center for its “Alaap” calling app.
The managing director of BTCL previously informed BSS that they want to increase the usage of Alaap in all areas of society.
“We will boost up our marketing activities for Alaap, incorporating new features with it,” he added.
Anwar Hossain said they are also working to cut tariff to provide affordable call rates and SMS packages to the customers.
The state-owned landphone operator launched the over-the-top (OTT) calling application Alaap in March, 2021 with facilities of making call to any mobile or landphone through a unique subscriber’s number.
As WhatsApp, Telegram, Imo like apps were still dominating the Bangladeshi market with instant messaging, free calls over the internet as well as video calls, the BTCL rolled out its Bangladeshi version “Alaap” to reduce the dependency of foreign apps as well as secure the personal data of local people.
Using the internet to converse and chat from “Alaap” to “Alaap” is now free. However, if a call is placed to a landline or mobile operator customer who is not utilizing Alaap, the caller will be responsible for paying the bills in addition to the cost of internet connectivity. Off-net calls cost Taka 0.35 to Alaap users.
However, BTCL officials who asked not to be identified but were involved in the Alaap operation told BSS that the telecom regulator, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), has allocated a total of 20 lakh unique numbers in two phases, which are almost complete. As a result, Alaap has been experiencing a number allocation crisis.
They said Alaap has now total subscriber over 19 lakh of which 16.49 lakh users are verified through NID, while another 3.94 lakh users are on queue to get verification. But, due to shortage of number, BTCL can’t allow more users although there is good demand for it.
Now, Alaap has nearly 17 lakh active users, and on an average it registers over 7 lakh paid call daily, while the number of free call is 8,000 to 10,000 daily.
The officials said that Alaap has so far earned total revenue of Taka 32 crore since its inception.
The program may be downloaded from Google Play and used by any smartphone user, just like Telegram, WhatsApp, Imo, and other over-the-top apps. In order to register with Alaap, an individual will want a copy of their NID and an active mobile number. Customers can sign up from the comfort of their homes, much like with Telegram and WhatsApp. New clients will receive BTCL’s new virtual phone numbers at the conclusion of the procedure.
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