Incorporating global standard tech in local market aimed at

Mohammad Ali | Published: August 13, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Anis A Khan

Country's leading bankers have moved to gear up awareness programme on fool-proof financial transactions and contain financial frauds by incorporating global standard technology in the local market.
The Bangladesh part of SWIFT, a global cooperative that facilitates secure inter-bank financial transactions worldwide, has been re-cast recently in this connection by adopting a constitution, under which its first ever polls was held electing a committee led by a bank's CEO.
"Our work is to first study the global best practices in using SWIFT technology for secure financial transactions, then share the knowledge and create awareness among us and identify its apt products for our market and incorporate those," Anis A Khan, the first elected Chairperson of SWIFT Member and User Group Bangladesh, told the FE in an interview recently.
Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a cooperative society owned by its member financial institutions.
There are many products of SWIFT; "we now need familiarisation with those" and then immediate, medium and long term plans are required in order to adopt suitable products here in phases, said Mr Khan, also managing director and CEO of the Mutual Trust Bank Ltd.
The new chairperson also expected to get SWIFT products at cheaper price for the Bangladesh market having 56 banks.
SWIFT provides network enabling the financial institutions worldwide to send and receive financial transaction-related information in a secure manner and also sells different products.
The SWIFT Member and User Group Bangladesh is celebrating its 20th year of collaboration with Bangladesh financial industry at a city hotel today (Wednesday).
As a new and elected chairperson of SWIFT Bangladesh, Mr Khan shared his plan on taking the country's status in secure financial transaction to a respectable level among the Asian countries.
He further said that they will open a bank account of the SWIFT Bangladesh, share their own contributions to the account and move forward with it to implement their the programme.
Within the two-year term of the new committee, Mr Khan also hoped to launch an interactive website of the SWIFT Bangladesh having links to the relevant international forums.
Security regarding the financial transactions became more complicated because of introduction of the electronic payment systems in transfer of remittance and other local fund, he said.
Mr Khan sought spontaneous cooperation and advice from all the banks in Bangladesh, specially their CEOs and international division officials, helping the SWIFT Bangladesh move forward in the right way.
Earlier, the structure of 15-member committee was designed in an inclusive manner by studying that of similar user groups of SWIFT in the surrounding countries.
The committee comprises, among others, officials from the CEO and Managing Director (MD), the Additional MD and the DMD levels of different state-owned and private commercial banks in the country.
Mr Khan was democratically elected as the first chairperson of the SWIFT Member and User Group Bangladesh recently.