WITSA recognises Nagad for innovation in fintech

Nagad, the digital financial service arm of the Bangladesh Post Office, has won the prestigious WITSA Global ICT Excellence Award 2020 for its role in promoting financial inclusion.

It is the first digital financial service of Bangladesh to win this award, reads a press release.

Nagad got the accolade at the annual World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT) in the category of Digital Opportunity/Inclusion on Thursday evening.

The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) named Nagad for the award for its excellent performance in the uses of technology in the financial industry. Founded in 1978, WITSA represents more than 90% of the ICT market in the world through its members, and it works to advance the ICT industry.

The three-day WCIT kicked off in Malaysia on Wednesday.

The Bangladesh Computer Society, the sole member of WITSA from the country, nominated Nagad for some of its innovations in the financial industry that ensured financial inclusion.

The innovations include the Digital-KYC (Know Your Customer) for customer registration; the Send Money to Any Phone number (SMTAT) facility that allows a Nagad user to transfer funds to any mobile phone number even if the recipient does not have a Nagad account; and the facility to open an account with just a single touch or tap.

With this accolade, Bangladesh is expected to gain widespread recognition in the world of information technology-based services.

Speaking about the recognition by WITSA, Tanvir A Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, said, "Nagad has been working for the digitalisation of the country's financial sector from the very beginning.

“The recognition from organisations like WITSA will certainly inspire us to innovate something new. We feel honoured to be recognised, but it is even more important for us to be able to play a role in changing people's lives,” he added.

Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Mostafa Jabbar expressed his deep satisfaction at Nagad receiving the award from WITSA.

"This recognition proves that we are on the right track. In just one and a half years of its service, Nagad has had such a profound impact in financial inclusion that the positive changes are already visible,” he said.

Launched in March 2019, Nagad, the second-largest MFS carrier, already has about 2.5 crore active subscribers, which account for 30% of the MFS user base in Bangladesh, according to the press release.

The service is available across the country through 160,000 plus agent points, and the transaction volume stands at Tk150 crore per day. By 2020, Nagad is expected to have a customer base of nearly 3.5 crore.