Nagad pays Tk1.12cr in service revenue to Postal Department
Nagad has made history by being the only service to have paid the Postal Department service revenue
The mobile financial service Nagad, on Sunday, paid Tk1.12 crore in service revenue to the Postal Department of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
Nagad is one of the services provided by the Postal Department, and the venture made history by being the only service to have paid service revenue to the department so far, read a press release.
Tanvir Ahmed Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, handed over a cheque to Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar at a function held at the newly-constructed Postal Building of the Postal Department in Dhaka.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Nagad handed over Tk1.12 crore as part of the service revenue, which will be counted towards the Postal Department's net income for the just ended 2019-20 financial year.
The Postal Department is currently offering around 16 general and financial services, including Nagad.
Traditionally the overall revenue and expenditure account of the Postal Department is always negative. In the 2018-19 financial year, the deficit between the revenue and expenditure of the department was Tk433 crore, which was Tk438 crore in the financial year of 2017-18.
However, Nagad has set a unique example for the Postal Department, as it received net income from one of its other services for the first time ever. The department received the income from Nagad just a year and half after the public-private partnership started its journey.
Md Nur-Ur-Rahman, secretary of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications and Sudhangshu Shekhar Bhadra, director general of the Directorate of Posts were present at the event along with senior officials of Nagad.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar expressed his satisfaction over the success of the state-owned digital financial service.
Speaking at the programme, he said, "This is a historic moment. I never thought that the postal department could have such an achievement. I believe that the Postal Department will turn around in the future with this path set by Nagad."
"The almost impossible task has been made possible by the venture, combining the innovation of private entrepreneurs with government support in the form of public-private partnership," he said.
The Postal Department owns a 51% share of Nagad, whereas Third Wave Technologies Ltd (TWTL)–a local software development company–owns a 49% share.
After the success of the mobile financial service, Nagad is now dreaming of converting itself into a digital bank, said sources at the company.
Tanvir Ahmed Mishuk, managing director of Nagad, said, "From the very beginning, we have designed our service structure with the utmost importance placed on citizens' needs. That is why Nagad has been able to come up with the latest services at the lowest cost."
"As a result, the Asian-Pacific Postal Union recognised Nagad as the world's fastest growing digital financial service within a year of its launch," he added.
He further said, "The day is not far away when the reputation of the Postal Department of Bangladesh will spread all over the world through Nagad. And Nagad will be the country's national digital financial services company."
