Banglalink, the Bangladesh-based digital operator owned by VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), has received approval from Bangladesh Bank to operate as a payment service provider, according to a press release statement issued Thursday.
VEON, which boasts impressive gross profit margins of 88.2% and has seen its stock price rise over 40% in the past year, continues to expand its digital financial services footprint.
The license will allow Banglalink to offer regulated money transfer and payment services in a country where an estimated 72% of the population remained outside the traditional banking system in 2023, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The company is now working on operational and technical preparations for commercial rollout in coordination with Bangladesh Bank and partner institutions. Initial services will include person-to-person transfers, remittance services, utility and government bill payments, merchant transactions, and salary disbursement services.
“The green light for Banglalink to launch payment services will enable us to bring financial services directly to customers’ fingertips while helping accelerate Bangladesh’s growth as a digital economy,” said Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group.
Johan Buse, Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink, stated that the company aims to create “a secure and inclusive digital payment ecosystem for Bangladesh.”
The expansion into Bangladesh extends VEON’s digital financial services portfolio, which reported 42.1 million monthly active users as of September 30, 2025, representing 25% year-on-year growth.
VEON operates across five countries, serving nearly 150 million connectivity users and 140 million digital users. With a market capitalisation of $3.5 billion, the company trades at a P/E ratio of just 5.7 and offers a strong free cash flow yield of 17%. According to InvestingPro analysis, VEON is currently undervalued based on its Fair Value assessment and maintains a “GREAT” overall financial health score. Investors can access more insights, including additional ProTips and a comprehensive Pro Research Report on VEON, through an InvestingPro subscription.
In other recent news, VEON Ltd. has announced its Kazakh subsidiary, Beeline Kazakhstan, will acquire OLX Kazakhstan for $75 million. OLX Kazakhstan is a prominent digital platform in the country, boasting around 10 million monthly active users and 3.6 million listings. Additionally, Beeline Kazakhstan has begun constructing a new Tier III-certified data centre in Almaty, named Hyper Cloud, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2026. This facility will support Kazakhstan’s sovereign cloud infrastructure and AI computing capabilities.
VEON has also entered a strategic partnership with MeetKai to develop locally-governed AI capabilities across its markets, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This collaboration, facilitated through VEON’s software company QazCode, aims to create and train large language models for AI services in local languages. Furthermore, Kyivstar Group Ltd., a part of VEON, has launched Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell satellite technology in Ukraine, becoming the first European operator to offer this service.
The satellite-to-mobile service will enable Kyivstar subscribers to maintain connectivity on standard 4G smartphones in areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable. These developments highlight VEON’s ongoing efforts to expand and enhance its technological and service capabilities across its operating regions.
