Debapriya: Nagad went where white elephant banks could not

Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that mobile financial service (MFS) Nagad has set its foot in the areas where big, white elephant banks could not go.

People, who used to take services from banks, are now availing its services, he also said while attending a virtual event on Facebook titled "Innovation for Financial Inclusion Leaves No One Behind”, organized by the MFS provider on Wednesday, said a press release.

"Previously we used to deposit a cheque at a bank and it would go through a lot of processes. A completely new area of work has been created by the blessings of MFS. Research can be carried out to see the changes that have taken place as a result of this," he also said.

Managing Director of Nagad Tanvir A Mishuk took part in the program, which was moderated by Nagad Chief Public Affairs Officer Solaiman Shukhon.

Digital solutions will work if stakeholders from small and medium entrepreneurs to workers' organizations are involved with it, the CPD distinguished fellow further said.

"The chambers of commerce have to be included. Concerted efforts have to be taken. We have to reach out to the small and medium-sized businesses."

Putting importance on building a national database, Dr Debapriya said a database was created to help the helpless people during the coronavirus pandemic. Now it needs to be considered whether it can be turned into a national database. In future the database can ease the process of delivering various government supports to the people.

Tanvir A Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, said: "We had noticed that the database was not flawless and that's why we had to verify the numbers with the help of the National Identification cards. Many, including the MFS operators, were annoyed about it in the beginning. But with the support of the mobile operators we were able to disbursed the PM’s Eid gift to 36 lakh people."

Nagad has brought different disruptive innovation in the service delivery process and devoted to bring new innovations. Previously it took seven to ten days to open a financial account and we made it just a dial from any mobile phone, the release added.