Global e-commerce colossus PayPal will launch its operations in Bangladesh within this year, according to a junior minister.
Most of the company's services, specially its online payments systems, will be available in the country within this year, state minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said in a Facebook post.
PayPal is one of the world's largest internet payment companies.
Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods, such as cheques and money orders.
Mr Palak said that he had discussed with PayPal's vice-president to expand the company's business into Bangladesh "at the earliest," reports bdnews24.com.
"We had a very effective meeting with Vice President of PayPal today in San Jose, California. We explained in detail Bangladesh government's policies and regulatory reforms and business opportunities for PayPal," Palak said in his post.
He said PayPal agreed to launch Xoom's operations in Bangladesh within September.
PayPal acquired Xoom to expand its business into emerging markets like China, India and Mexico.
Mr Palak said he will discuss the whole issue with Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman and Finance Minister AMA Muhith soon.
"They (PayPal) will also internally discuss on how they can prioritise and launch PayPal in Bangladesh and let us know if they need any further support from our Government. We will continue our efforts to bring PayPal to Bangladesh sooner than later," the junior minister said.
As of 2014, PayPal operates in 203 markets and has 152 million active registered accounts.
PayPal allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 26 currencies worldwide.
Its services allow people to make financial transactions online by granting the ability to transfer funds electronically between individuals and businesses.
Discussions to bring PayPal to Bangladesh started in 2011. Finance minister Muhith had promised to make PayPal's services available in Bangladesh on several occasions.
Presently, Payza, Skrill and Payoneer operate online payments services in Bangladesh.
Roughly $70 million a year flows into Bangladesh through these services, with the bulk coming via Payoneer, a Bangladesh Bank official told the news agency.
Unofficially, another $50 million may be coming in the country, he said.
