Bangladesh Bank launches domestic card scheme with Fime

By Gloria Mathias

Bangladesh Bank has chosen Fime, the IT platform, to launch the nation’s domestic card scheme.

Fime will provide consulting and testing services during this six-year partnership and set up a certification body framework. By establishing this independent payment infrastructure, Bangladesh Bank is creating the stable, sovereign economic platform it needs to deliver financial security to its citizens.

Fime’s consultants will first support the Bangladesh Bank in defining its payment strategy to improve financial inclusion, sovereignty, and security. Fime will also be involved in preparing the certification body framework and will support onboarding and the eventual running and operation of the scheme.

“Bangladesh is an emerging market with a growing payments ecosystem and a strong desire for digital solutions that advance the Smart Bangladesh Mission,” said Mezbaul Haque, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank. “We are confident and ready to begin our journey towards payments sovereignty, and we look forward to working with Fime to achieve this goal.”

Angaj Bhandari, VP – MEA, India, and South Asia at Fime shared, “Fime is pleased to play such an integral role in creating Bangladesh’s domestic payment scheme. This initiative will be fundamental in increasing the penetration of digital payments and boosting financial inclusion in the region. Our experts in South Asia will deliver global expertise at a local level, tailoring the domestic scheme and its digital payments architecture to the unique requirements of the Bangladeshi market.”

The platform has supported multiple domestic card schemes globally. Its Savvi+ test platform and the digital cloud-based Fime Test Factory suite will be fundamental to setting up and managing the scheme’s testing and certification infrastructure. They will give the country’s payments stakeholders a single solution for all certification needs.

Fime enables its clients to create and launch trusted and secure solutions with consulting and testing services in payments, smart mobility, biometrics, authentication, and open banking. It offers a global cross-industry perspective, local insight, and a unique heritage in testing and certification. Fime’s consultants provide transformative business expertise, partnering with organizations worldwide to define, design, deliver and test their products and services.