Ekpay plans to enhance its services

A concerted effort is underway to improve Ekpay services as the national payment aggregator seeks to promote digital financial services and ensure financial inclusion at the grassroots level across the country.

The digital payment platform will enable citizens to pay various types of bills, including utility, education, and government agency fees, through any available payment channels.

This initiative was discussed at a daylong workshop titled 'Payment Ecosystem in Financial Services: Challenges and Way Forward,' organized by Aspire to Innovate (a2i) at the ICT Division office on Thursday, with a statement released on Friday.

Ekpay is a digital payment platform developed and managed by the a2i Program of the ICT Division, under the oversight of Bangladesh Bank.

The event was attended by ICT Division Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury as the chief guest and ICT Division Policy Adviser Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb as the special guest.

Shish Haider Chowdhury emphasized the importance of innovation in electronic payment systems and technology integration to create a more user-friendly payment ecosystem and ensure financial inclusion.

He added that the ICT Division is collaborating with the central bank to enhance Ekpay services as a national payment aggregator. "We are focusing on promoting Ekpay effectively," he said, expressing hopes that Ekpay will become the most trusted payment aggregator in the country.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb pointed out that the lack of interoperability between two separate entities within the country's mobile financial services has been a concern. "We aim to create an ecosystem where interoperability is guaranteed," he said. He further noted that government agencies require a reliable payment aggregator, and Ekpay could play a crucial role in this regard.

The ICT Division aims to position Ekpay in such a way that it connects all relevant government agencies, utility service providers, educational institutions, banks, MFS, FinTech companies, and other financial institutions.

A2i Project Director Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan chaired the workshop. During his address, he acknowledged past concerns about the trustworthiness of the Ekpay platform but assured that there is no longer any room for such mistrust.

The workshop also featured a panel discussion on the 'Role and Actions of Ekpay in the Payment Ecosystem.'