Freelancers in Bangladesh will now be able to receive payments instantly to their bKash account from all over the world through Payoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO).
The 24/7 real-time payment service will bring more dynamism to the thriving freelancing sector and accelerate the flow of remittance through legal channels to the country.
Payoneer, a US-based commerce technology company powering payments and growth for the new global economy; Brac Bank, a leading private commercial bank of Bangladesh; and bKash, Bangladesh’s largest mobile financial services provider jointly launched the service through a virtual event today.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), inaugurated the service as the Chief Guest. Russel T. Ahmed, President of BASIS; Rohit Kulkarni, Regional Senior Vice President of Payoneer and Robert Clarkson, Chief Revenue Officer of Payoneer; Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO of Brac Bank and Kamal Quadir, Chief Executive Officer of bKash along with senior officials of respective organizations also joined the event.
As per the Oxford Internet Institute’s Online Labor Index , Bangladesh is a global powerhouse when it comes to ICT freelancing services. Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi freelancers are currently providing services in this sector worldwide. They are adding hundreds of millions of dollars a year in foreign exchange to the country’s economy. Bangladesh is one of the top income generating sources from freelancing in the world.
With this new service tailored for local freelancers, bKash customers will be able to easily register a new Payoneer account, or link their existing account from the ‘Remittance’ icon of the bKash app. Once linked, freelancers can check their Payoneer account balance, and instantly bring their payments to their bKash accounts. These funds can be used for any purpose including ‘Send Money’ to other bKash accounts, ‘Pay Bill’, ‘Payment’ of shopping, ‘Cash Out’, etc. Freelancers from every corner of the country no longer need to wait to receive remittance payments, addressing a key challenge to growth for these workers.
BRAC Bank will play a pivotal role in this service as the foreign currency management and international fund settlement bank.
On the occasion of this launch, customers receiving the highest amount of payment each day will be given a mobile phone starting from February 10-16, 2022. A customer can receive this prize only once during the campaign. To be eligible, the amount of money coming from Payoneer to the bKash account should be more than BDT 15,000 in one or more transactions. The prizes will be handed over to the winners at the end of the campaign. In addition, bKash is offering 2% instant cashback on every Payoneer transaction from February 10 to March 10, 2022.
