Nagad helps millions save hard-earned money

Nagad account holders have saved around Tk1,007 crore in various service charges and through discounts in the last 11 months compared to those charged by other mobile financial service (MFS) operators. 

Many people with low incomes cherish even saving Tk100 every month, says Nagad.

One such account holder is Amir Hosen, a restaurant guard, who has been using Nagad for eight months after coming to know of the reduced cash-out charge and its free “send money” option.

“I receive a monthly salary of Tk9,000 and from that I have to send money every month to my village where my mother lives. Earlier, I used another MFS but then I learned about Nagad where charges are the lowest. Now, every month, I save around Tk60-70 by using Nagad to recharge my phone,” said Hosen.

Nagad charges Tk11.49 (including VAT) for its cash-out service, whereas the market standard charges are Tk18.50 (including VAT). 

So, between October 2020 and August 2021, Nagad users were able to save Tk277 crore in cash-out charges.

For the person to person Send Money service, Nagad has zero charges with unlimited number of transactions. But other operators charge from Tk5 to Tk10 for this service. 

As a result, compared to other operators, Nagad customers saved Tk52 crore using the Send Money option in the last 11 months. 

Another major MFS service of Nagad is the payment of various bills including utility bills, credit card bills, tuition fees, etc. 

For Nagad customers, all types of bill payments are completely free of charge compared to the Tk28 to Tk45 charged by other MFS operators. 

And this allowed Nagad users to save Tk28 crore during the period.

Other than these services, Nagad also has agreements with a range of companies to provide discount to Nagad users if the payment is made through its wallet. 

Nagad users have received Tk204 crore worth of discounts on various products and services in the last 11-months.

Account holders of Nagad also enjoy 6.5% interest on savings schemes, compared to the 4.6% interest given by other operators. 

So, with a leverage of 2 percentage points, Nagad users have earned profits worth Tk14 crore in between October 2020 and August 2021. 

One of the most important innovations of Nagad is digitalization of MFS registration process by just dialling *167#. 

With the innovation, the time and cost of the users declined significantly as previously registrations required NID photocopies, two passport size photographs and travel costs to agent points. 

As Nagad has acquired 25 million customers in the last 11-months, the new account holders were able to save Tk432 crore due to the automated registration system.

Nagad Managing Director Tanvir A Mishuk terms such cost-effective service model of the company as a tool to achieve financial inclusion in the economy.

“From the beginning, the goal of Nagad was to bring the marginalized and unbanked people to structured financing. Considering the vision, we always tried to keep our charges rational. I am truly happy that Nagad customers are enjoying the most cost-effective MFS service in the country and can use those saved up resources for other needs.”  

After its launch in March 26, 2019, Bangladesh Post Office’s MFS Nagad has been working to bring the financial transactions of the people to the digital platform and ease it.  

In the last two and a half years, the operator bagged 54 million customers with a daily average transaction of Tk700 crore.

This article was published in partnership with Nagad