Dhaka, TV24 Desk- Nagad, the digital financial service arm of Bangladesh Post Office, has won the prestigious WITSA Global ICT Excellence Award 2020, as the first digital financial service of Bangladesh, for its role in promoting financial inclusion.
The fastest-growing mobile financial service in the country got the recognition, known as the Olympic in the ICT sector, at the annual World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT) in the category of Digital Opportunity/Inclusion on Thursday evening.
The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) named Nagad for the award for its excellent performance in the uses of technology in the financial industry.
The three-day WCIT kicked off in Malaysia on Wednesday, and the award was presented to Nagad at around 8 pm Malaysian local time on the second day of the conference.
The Bangladesh Computer Society, the sole member of the WITSA from the country, nominated Nagad for some of its innovations in the financial industry that ensured financial inclusion.
The innovations include the Digital-KYC (Know Your Customer) for customer registration; the Send Money to Any Phone number (SMTAT) facility that allows a Nagad user to transfer funds to any mobile phone number even if the recipient does not have Nagad account; and the facility to open an account with just a single touch or tap.
The WITSA’s acknowledgement is a significant and prestigious global recognition in the implementation of Digital Bangladesh. With the accolade, Bangladesh is expected to gain wide recognition in the world of information technology-based services.
Last month, Nagad won the ‘Inclusive Fintech Fifty’ award as the best fintech startup in the world.
Speaking about the recognition of the WITSA, Tanvir A Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, said, “Nagad has been working for the digitalization of the country’s financial sector from the very beginning. We feel honoured to be recognized, but it is even more important for us to be able to play a role in changing people’s lives.”
Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Mostafa Jabbar expressed his deep satisfaction at Nagad receiving the award from the WITSA. He said: “This recognition from the WITSA proves that we are on the right track. In just one and a half years of its service, Nagad has had such a profound impact in the financial inclusion that the positive changes are already visible.
Launched in March 2019, Nagad, the second-largest MFS carrier, has already had about 2.5 crore active subscribers, which account for 30 per cent of the MFS user base in Bangladesh.
The service is available across the country through 160,000 plus agent points, and the transaction volume stands at Tk 150 crore per day. By 2020, Nagad will have a customer base of nearly 3.5 crore.