BANGLADESH: Bank Processing of E-Commerce Pre-Payments Suspended

Commercial banks have been ordered not to process advance payments for goods or services purchased via digital marketplace. This follows a number of instances where such pre-payments have been retained despite the non-delivery of the specified item or service. 

The move, as outlined by the country’s central bank, the Bank of Bangladesh, in PSD Circular Letter No. 13, follows an earlier directive that all such payments should be held in escrow by a designated third party until the purchaser has confirmed delivery. As this requirement has, reportedly, been flouted by a number of e-commerce platforms, this latest measure has been designed to raise the level of due diligence on the part of any bank handling such a transaction.