Digitalised money transfer in post offices soon

The postal department is going to introduce ‘Electronic Money Order’ (EMO), ‘Mobile Money Order’ (MMO) and ‘Postal Cash Card’ (PCC) services for its millions of customers to transfer money within an hour to the remote areas.
It will also help avoid the risk of carrying cash.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the services today from the Ganabhaban, a postal department source said.
Under the existing system, it takes 7 to 10 days to transfer money to the remote areas. Post and Telecommunications Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose told BSS, “It is part of the initiatives taken by the Postal Department to build ‘Digital Bangladesh”.
He said the customers using PCC can go for cash transaction and payment of all sorts of utility bills through ATM and Point of Sale (PoS).
Director General of Postal Department Mobasser-ur-Rahman said virtual private network (VPN) server has been set up on the second floor of GPO Bhaban to conduct the service.
He said 500 post offices in the district towns would be brought under the network in the first phase while 1650 sub-post offices in the second phase and 8,500 post offices in the third phase.
The whole country is likely to be brought under the system from June to Dec.
Under the system, a customer will be able to buy ATM or PCC for any amount from any post office. The customer, charging the card with the PoS machine will be able to withdraw the necessary amount. The postmaster of the post office concerned will be bound to pay the customer the required amount.
The customers will have to pay Taka 15 to 25 for each of the cards. The service will be introduced with 150 post offices in the country as a pilot project.
About service fee of mobile money order, postal department sources said a customer will have to pay Taka 20 as commission for sending Taka 100 to 1000, Taka 30 up to 2,000, Taka 40 up to 3,000, Taka 50 up to Taka 4,000 and Taka 60 up to Taka 5,000.
The postal department sources said process is on to set up PoS and ATM machines for electronic and plastic card based remittance financial transaction.
IT Consultant, a private firm, is setting up infrastructure for the project.
The postal department will have to spend Taka 1.5 crore for setting up infrastructure at 70 main post offices in the first phase and Taka 7.5 crore will be spent for setting up infrastructure at 500 upazila and sub-post offices.
Price of each of the PoS machine is Taka 12,000 while ATM machine is Taka 28 lakh.
The postal department has signed an agreement with 22 banks so that its customers can withdraw money through using the cards from the ATM machines set up in the banks.

Courtesy of BSS via The New Nation