NBL Securities has come up with a mobile app 'Trek' that will offer solutions to all problems tied to trading in listed securities in a move towards making the capital market more inclusive.
Designed and developed by a local start-up, techetronventures, it will go live after the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The app is unique, says Managing Director of NBL Securities Zobayed Al-Mamun Hasan, considering that it enables subscribers to do everything remotely from opening BO (beneficiary owner's) accounts to deposit funds into the broker's consolidated customers account (CCA) to withdraw money from sale proceeds.
In between any of the steps, clients will not have to go to the brokerage firm, says Mr Hasan, whereas the existing mobile apps introduced by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and some leading stock brokers are only facilitating daily share transactions.
Investors needed to go to the brokerage firms for opening BO accounts before signing in to those mobile applications for trading. Moreover, fund deposit or withdrawal is not possible through those apps.
While those apps were developed by foreign companies, Mr Hasan says, NBL Securities' own IT infrastructure helped make the new app locally.
NBL Securities has already received approval of the mobile app from the DSE and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission upon trials. Some clients have already started using the app on a trial basis.
After downloading the app on their android or iPhone mobile sets, clients of NBL Securities are required to complete a few steps by providing information, such as NID number, phone number, and pictures of the account holder and their cheque book.
Then the app will crosscheck the information against the client's personal details available on Porichay, an official identity verification API provider in Bangladesh.
Later, officials of NBL Securities will call the applicant to confirm the completion of the process. On completion of the KYC (know your client) verification, the client's BO account will become operable.
Up until now only the fee of the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) will be charged.
Due to a lack of financial literacy, only a small fraction of the population is aware of the capital market and even a smaller segment is engaged in the secondary market trading.
"We need more products and innovative trading systems for expansion of the market through inclusion of more people," said Mr Hasan.
Often the integrity of the officials of many brokerage companies is questioned for having influenced investors in making wrong decisions, he says, adding that Trek would empower investors in executing their own decisions while trading in the market.
He ruled out any risks in execution of transactions through Trek as, according to him, the whole process will be executed directly through the API (Application Programme Interface) linked to the DSE.
NBL Securities has named the app Trek, which means, according to the English dictionary, walking a long distance through forests and over mountains, to convey the message that investments in the capital market entail challenges.
The clients will be provided with basic information about listed securities and trades, company disclosures and trading-related data extracted by the research team of NBL Securities.
Deposit and withdrawal of funds
A client is required to deposit funds to conduct transactions. Using the app, clients will be able to transfer money from their bank accounts to the broker's consolidated customers' account (CCA) through sslcommerz, a well-known payment gateway aggregator in Bangladesh.
Funds can be withdrawn from sale proceeds as well within one working day. In that case, money will be transferred to the client's bank account through BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network).
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