Veon-owned telco Banglalink announced on Thursday it has received regulatory clearance from Bangladesh Bank to operate as a digital payment service provider in Bangladesh as it seeks to expand into digital financial services.
As a payment services provider, Banglalink will be able to offer regulated money transfer and payment services for customers, expanding access to formal financial tools.
Banglalink said it is now working closely with Bangladesh Bank and partner institutions as it makes operational and technical preparations to commercially roll out an offering that integrates everyday financial services seamlessly into customers’ mobile experience to reduce friction and lower access barriers.
Banglalink’s digital payment services will initially include instant person-to-person transfers, remittance services, utility and government bill payments, merchant and e-commerce transactions, and salary and disbursement services. In later stages, it will support emerging financial use cases such as micro-savings and insurance premium payments.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, around 72% of Bangladesh’s population was still outside the traditional banking system as of the end of 2023, which Banglalink said represent “a significant opportunity to accelerate financial inclusion at national scale.”
Banglalink also has the benefit of leveraging Veon’s digital financial services portfolio across its other operating markets, which serves a collective 42.1 million monthly active users as of the end of September 2025, representing 25% year-on-year growth.
“Digital financial services are a key pillar of our DO1440 strategy that is empowering our customers with relevant digital services for every minute of the day,” said Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu. “The green light for Banglalink to launch payment services will enable us to bring financial services directly to customers’ fingertips while helping accelerate Bangladesh’s growth as a digital economy.”
