Banglalink seeks digital bank licence from BB

Business Desk :

Private mobile operator Banglalink and its sole shareholder VEON have written to Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, expressing their interest in obtaining a digital bank license in Bangladesh.

The two companies had previously discussed the matter with the governor during meetings held in Dhaka in September last year and Washington in April this year.
When contacted, a Banglalink official, requesting anonymity, told The Business Standard that the company has sent an expression of interest (EoI) letter to the governor to obtain a digital bank license.

“However, the company has not yet formally applied for the license,” the official added.
Bangladesh Bank sources confirmed that on 14 September, Banglalink and VEON wrote to the governor expressing their interest in establishing a digital bank.

VEON, a leading global digital operator listed on NASDAQ, reported $4.0 billion in revenue and $1.7 billion in EBITDA in 2024. It is the sole shareholder of Banglalink.
According to the letter to the governor, VEON has a proven track record in digital financial services through its operations such as ‘Simply!’ in Kazakhstan, ‘Beepul’ in Uzbekistan, and ‘JazzCash’ in Pakistan.

Notably, JazzCash now serves over 40 million customers, issues around 200,000 online loans daily, and processes transaction volumes equivalent to roughly 10% of Pakistan’s GDP annually.
VEON and Banglalink said their experience with this large-scale, regulated platform—particularly in areas such as nationwide customer and merchant enablement, risk management, interoperability, financial literacy and inclusion, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention—can be responsibly transferred and localized in Bangladesh to support the country’s transition toward a digitally driven, cashless economy.