Shah Alam Nur :
Unregistered SIMs (subscriber-identification module) are now used widely in mobile bansking service, causing serious concern about illegal transaction of money, source said.
Some criminals are now using unregistered mobile SIMs and fake national identity (ID) cards for opening bank accounts to get mobile money-transfer services.
According to the law-enforcement agencies, more than 80 per cent of mobile SIMs across the country have no registration and these are being used for money transaction through mobile banking.
The specialized units of Police source said, more than 90 per cent of mobile banking accounts have been opened without verifying the subscribers’ addresses properly.
In recent times, the law-enforcement agencies have detected a large number of illegal mobile financial transactions.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB)
data showed, there are more than 28 million mobile banking subscribers in Bangladesh against 5,38,000 mobile banking agents across the country.
Around Tk 4.32 billion are transacted daily through mobile banking across the country.
According to BB, out of the 28 licensed banks in Bangladesh, 20 BRAC Bank’s bKash, DBBL mobile banking, IBBL’s Mcash, Prime Bank’s Easy Cash, National Commerce and Credit (NCC) Bank Ltd’s Sure Cash, Mercantile Bank Ltd’s my cash and Trust Bank’s Mobile Money are providing mobile banking services.
The two leading mobile banking platforms are bKash of BRAC Bank and Dutch-Bangla mobile banking of Dutch-Bangla Bank. These two platforms represent 80 per cent of the total mobile banking market in Bangladesh.
“The law-enforcement agencies are getting more than 400 complaints every month about illegal money transaction through mobile banking across the country,” an official of a specialised branch of a police unit told the New Nation on Friday.
He said, the criminals are using unregistered SIMs or fake addresses to open the mobile money-transfer accounts. They are taking toll on illegal money transaction.
He said, for using unregistered mobile SIMs and fake NID cards, the law-enforcers cannot track the criminals.
Sarwar Alam, Secretary of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said, the commission has instructed the mobile operators several times to control the illegal money transaction, but they have paid no heed.
The commission is trying its level best to reduce financial crimes being committed through mobile banking.
An executive director of Bangladesh Bank said, the central bank is going to take necessary measures to check illegal transaction of money through mobile banking.
BB is closely monitoring the situation in context of various cases of embezzlement and irregularities in the mobile-banking sector, he said, adding that the central bank has recently asked the mobile-phone operators to control the sales of unregistered SIMs.
Less than 30 per cent of Bangladeshis are connected to the formal banking system while over 68 per cent have mobile-phone sets.
The central bank has allowed mobile banking system in order to provide almost all services from disbursement of inward remittances to cash in and out, person-to-business payments, business-to-person payments, person-to-government payments, government-to-person payments and person-to person payments.
Unregistered SIMs (subscriber-identification module) are now used widely in mobile bansking service, causing serious concern about illegal transaction of money, source said.
Some criminals are now using unregistered mobile SIMs and fake national identity (ID) cards for opening bank accounts to get mobile money-transfer services.
According to the law-enforcement agencies, more than 80 per cent of mobile SIMs across the country have no registration and these are being used for money transaction through mobile banking.
The specialized units of Police source said, more than 90 per cent of mobile banking accounts have been opened without verifying the subscribers’ addresses properly.
In recent times, the law-enforcement agencies have detected a large number of illegal mobile financial transactions.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB)
data showed, there are more than 28 million mobile banking subscribers in Bangladesh against 5,38,000 mobile banking agents across the country.
Around Tk 4.32 billion are transacted daily through mobile banking across the country.
According to BB, out of the 28 licensed banks in Bangladesh, 20 BRAC Bank’s bKash, DBBL mobile banking, IBBL’s Mcash, Prime Bank’s Easy Cash, National Commerce and Credit (NCC) Bank Ltd’s Sure Cash, Mercantile Bank Ltd’s my cash and Trust Bank’s Mobile Money are providing mobile banking services.
The two leading mobile banking platforms are bKash of BRAC Bank and Dutch-Bangla mobile banking of Dutch-Bangla Bank. These two platforms represent 80 per cent of the total mobile banking market in Bangladesh.
“The law-enforcement agencies are getting more than 400 complaints every month about illegal money transaction through mobile banking across the country,” an official of a specialised branch of a police unit told the New Nation on Friday.
He said, the criminals are using unregistered SIMs or fake addresses to open the mobile money-transfer accounts. They are taking toll on illegal money transaction.
He said, for using unregistered mobile SIMs and fake NID cards, the law-enforcers cannot track the criminals.
Sarwar Alam, Secretary of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said, the commission has instructed the mobile operators several times to control the illegal money transaction, but they have paid no heed.
The commission is trying its level best to reduce financial crimes being committed through mobile banking.
An executive director of Bangladesh Bank said, the central bank is going to take necessary measures to check illegal transaction of money through mobile banking.
BB is closely monitoring the situation in context of various cases of embezzlement and irregularities in the mobile-banking sector, he said, adding that the central bank has recently asked the mobile-phone operators to control the sales of unregistered SIMs.
Less than 30 per cent of Bangladeshis are connected to the formal banking system while over 68 per cent have mobile-phone sets.
The central bank has allowed mobile banking system in order to provide almost all services from disbursement of inward remittances to cash in and out, person-to-business payments, business-to-person payments, person-to-government payments, government-to-person payments and person-to person payments.
