Telecom minister urges people to avail Nagadservices from home

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar has urged the citizens to stay at home to ensure social distancing in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and avail of all necessary services through mobile financial service Nagad, the arm of the Postal Department.

In the last few days, an official SMS has been sent to all the active mobile connections in the country in the name of the Posts and Telecommunications Division to aware people of the second wave of the deadly virus. As of February, there were 173.4 million active mobile connections in the country, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

In the SMS, the Posts and Telecommunications Division said: “The government has enforced lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. At this time, please use Nagad to pay the bill of all utility services, including gas, electricity, water, internet and recharge mobile for free of charge sitting at home.”

Considering the current situation, Nagad has put in place all arrangements for its users so that they can get the services sitting at home. In order for them to stay connected with the digital world, exciting offers have been given, including cashback on mobile recharge through Nagad. Moreover, there is an opportunity to pay for all the utility bills including gas, electricity, water and internet, free of cost, while others are charging Tk 5 to Tk 30 extra for each of these bills. In order to stand by the people during the pandemic, Nagad is working under slogan, “If people survive, the country will survive”.

Nagad has introduced mobile payments for Covid-19 test fees instead of cash payments to reduce the risk of spreading infections through paper money. And already gained massive popularity for the free send money facility and the lowest cost cash-out charge. Currently, there are 12,000 merchants and 500 e-commerce connected with Nagad, so all daily needs, including shopping, can be met from one’s home.

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar is impressed with the arrangement of Nagad in helping people receive all the services during the pandemic. That is why such an SMS has been sent to raise customer awareness and urge people to stay at home, he said.

The Posts and Telecommunications minister said, "People are becoming more and more interested in digital transactions as Nagad has set an excellent example of ensuring the freedom of financial transactions by offering some services with no charge or some services with a minimum charge. From the beginning, I have observed that Nagad has always widened its range of services and created an example to deliver services from the center to the remote areas of the country, which is one of the best examples of the government's digitalization process. Nagad is now the number one MFS carrier in the country in terms of providing the best service using technology, ensuring the opportunity to transact at the lowest cost, and so many parameters. I believe that in a short time, it will be the top MFS operator in the country in terms of business perspective as well.”

Nagad, the world's fastest-growing mobile financial service, has recently surpassed two landmarks: 40 million subscribers and Tk 4 billion transactionsper day. 

Inaugurated by Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 26, 2019, Nagad has achieved huge success of government service in just two years and has created a buzz in the industry. During the pandemic, Nagad has introduced the digital distribution of various government allowances, stipends and financial assistance, making it easier for the beneficiaries to get the assistance. It has ensured transparency and saved public money. Recently, nearly 15 million primary-level students have been given stipends in their mothers' Nagad wallets, a development that has restored order in the distribution of stipends.

Anyone can open an account of Nagad just by dialing *167# from their mobile phones and setting a four-digit PIN. This innovation has also drawn people to Nagad and digital transactions. If anybody uses Nagad, the users will not require to come out of their home to avail of any common services.