The Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur on Thursday said that the digital banking license for Nagad Digital Bank PLC was suspended and the central bank would review the process.
鈥楾he Nagad digital banking licence has been suspended, and we will make a thorough review. If they qualify as per the central bank鈥檚 review process, they will receive the license,鈥� he told reporters at a press briefing at the central bank headquarters in the capital.
On June 3, the central bank awarded the full-fledged digital banking license to Nagad Digital Bank.
Its associate company Nagad, the second largest mobile financial service provider, has been struggling with license issue since inception.
There have been allegations that the MFS service-providing entity availed the licence bypassing the existing rules following interventions by influential individuals connected to the recently disposed Awami League-led government.
According to the regulations, an MFS company cannot exist on its own but has to be a subsidiary of another financial institution or government entity.
bKash is a subsidiary of BRAC Bank and Rocket of Dutch-Bangla Bank.
Although Nagad claimed that it was a subsidiary of Bangladesh Post Office and was eligible of getting license, the government agency declined the claim in various ways.
Despite extension for several times, Nagad could still not become a subsidiary of Bangladesh Post Office or any other financial institution.
Since Nagad cannot operate alone as an MFS, it took in principle license for opening a digital bank named Nagad Digital Bank, under which it would work as a subsidiary to legalise its operation.
Tanvir Ahmed Mishuk is managing director of both Third Wave Technologies and Nagad.
On August 20, Bangladesh Bank requested the foreign ministry to provide information of five foreign sponsor shareholders of Nagad Digital Bank PLC.
The five shareholder companies are the Blue Heaven Ventures LLC, Osiris Capital Partners LLC, Zen Fintech LLC, Finclusion Ventures Pte Ltd and Trupay Technologies LLC.
In a letter on Sunday, the central bank made the request to collect information regarding the companies through Bangladesh embassies in the United States and Singapore.
