Bangladesh’s leading mobile financial service bKash has reduced the cash-out charge for their customers in an effort to make the service more convenient. bKash is the first and currently the largest mobile financial service provider in the country.
The customers of bKash can now cash out up to 25,000 takas per month from a ‘priyo agent’ (favorite agent) number at a cost of only 14.90 takas per thousand or 1.49%. This includes all related costs like VAT and other charges and customers do not need to pay any extra amount.
To avail this benefit a customer has to add an agent number of his choice as his ‘priyo agent’ number. The benefit can only be availed when cashing out money from this agent number. Customers can only add one ‘priyo’ agent during a calendar month. This number can be changed after that calendar month is over. The ‘priyo’ agent number can be added by using both the app or the USSD menu option (by dialing *247#). Currently, 3 out of every 4 customers of bKash uses the USSD for their transactions.
However, the charge would remain the same for cashing out amounts above the 25,000 taka limit or for cashing out from any agent other than the ‘priyo’ agent. Currently, this rate is 18.5 taka per thousand or 1.85%.
Customers can continue to cash out using more than 1,500 ATM booths across the country at a rate of 14.9 per thousand taka.
bKash currently has 5.5 million customers and all of these customers can avail of this new benefit. Recent data by bKash shows that 95% of their customers cash out less than 25,000 taka per month. This reduced charge, therefore, will hugely benefit the majority of the company’s customers.
bKash advises their customers to use the feature to the full extent. If any customer needs to cash out more than the 25,000 taka limit, then the company suggests to first cash out the amount within this limit and then cashing out any other amount in a separate transaction. This will ensure that all customers can take full benefit of this new feature.
bKash has introduced this feature to mark the 10th anniversary of the company. bKash started in 2010 as a joint venture between BRAC Bank Limited and Money in Motion LLC. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the BIll & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Ant Financial (Ali Pay) are also stakeholders in the company. The company aims to ensure access to a broader range of financial services for the people of Bangladesh. In keeping with this, bKash facilitates the payment of bills of different utilities, payment of fees for different services and institutions, and payment to businesses and merchants among its list of services.
How to Add a ‘Priyo Agent’
To add a ‘priyo’ agent number, the customer has to click on the cash-out icon on the home screen of the app. From the next screen, the customer can follow the available steps to set the ‘priyo’ agent number. On the other hand, customers without the app can also set the ‘priyo’ agent number by dialing *247# and selecting ‘My bKash’ menu. From the next menu, one has to select ‘priyo number’ and then set the ‘priyo agent’ number following the options available to them. Customers can also log on to bKash account for further information regarding the feature.
500 Taka Cashback on Add Money
Throughout the month of October, bKash is offering its customers a 500 taka cashback offer for using the add money feature to transfer money from their bank account or bank card to their bKash account. The first 5 customers every hour to add 6,500 taka or more from 6 am to 10 pm will receive this cashback. That means that a total of 80 customers will benefit from this offer everyday. A customer will be eligible for this offer only once in a day during this campaign. The account that received the added money will get the reward within 2-3 days, according to company sources.
Currently, clients of 29 commercial banks can use internet banking or the banks’ apps to add money to their bKash accounts. Similarly, all Visa and Mastercard holders will also be able to avail the offer.
To participate in this campaign, customers have to register for internet banking for their bank account and register the bKash number as the beneficiary. For card users, customers have to select the card to bKash option from the bKash app and follow the steps presented to them.
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