Experts at a discussion on Saturday underscored the need for framing a long term strategy for popularising cashless payments in retail businesses.
They identified higher merchant discount rate or MDR and inadequate infrastructure as the key challenges for making the digital payment more popular.
They were speaking at a panel discussion on 'Enhancing the retail payment experience, in payments is cash still king?' at the concluding day of two-day 5th Retail Congress 2020.
Bangladesh Brand Forum organised the virtual conference sponsored by Shwapno and Apex.
Rahel Ahmed, managing director and CEO of Prime Bank Limited, Syed Mohammad Kamal, MasterCard Bangladesh country manager, and Mizanur Rashid, chief commercial officer of bKash Limited, a mobile financial service provider took part at the panel.
Zeeshaan Kingshuk Huq, a digital commerce entrepreneur, moderated the discussion.
Syed Mohammad Kamal said earlier the MDR rate was very high, which has declined gradually.
"Market force has helped reduce the MDR from three or four per cent to around 1.5 per cent," he said.
He also said introduction of the Bengali QR has been helping in this regard.
Mizanur Rashid said digital financial service is getting popularised in the country day by day.
He identified cash-on-delivery or COD payment method during online purchase as very challenging.
He underscored the need for ensuring seamless experience for the consumers to retain their trust on the service providers.
Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment and Development Authority (BIDA), joined the concluding session as the chief guest.
Sirazul Islam said the Covid-19 pandemic has challenged the retail business across the world.
"However, the use of digital platforms by the organised retailers has been indicating a bright prospect for the operators," he said.
The BIDA chief also said adoption of organised retail services is also vital for establishing a digital economy as the operators are strengthening their footprints in digital commerce.
Atiqul Islam, mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, joined the conference as the special guest.
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