The centra bank is set to request the Election Commission (EC) to attach financial transaction-related applications (apps) on its smart national ID cards so that clients of scheduled banks and non-bank financial institutions are able to carry out transactions through this cards, a press release said.
A Bangladesh Bank official told on Thursday that the central bank will inform to the Election Commission soon, requesting for information on the types of applications that will be included in smart NID cards.
The Election Commission will have to give the banks and NBFIs access to its database if this comes into effect, he expresses.
The Election Commission began implementation of a $195 million project, with assistance from the World Bank, to replace existing NID cards with smart cards in five years, to prevent forgery. The project is set to be completed by June 2016.
Pocket-size smart cards or chip cards or integrated circuit cards have embedded integrated circuits. Another Bangladesh Bank official said some countries, including Nigeria and Thailand, have attached financial transaction-related applications to their chip-based NID cards.
Trust Bank Ltd applied to the central bank for the first time in June, 2014, requesting to carry out financial transactions for clients using smart NID cards, he said.
Trust Bank later made a presentation before central bank officials pointing out that farmers and freedom fighters would be able to receive subsidy and allowance from the government through the smart NID cards, he said.
If implemented, all banks and NBFIs will enjoy the financial transaction-related facility from the smart NID cards, he said.
The Bangladesh Bank official further said that financial transaction through smart NID cards would probably be more secure than the existing system as all types of information of the client would be attached to the chip-based cards.
-Bangladesh Today
