Eid markets going less cash as more shoppers embrace digital payment

Four out of 10 payment transactions in the city’s skyrocketing Eid markets were made by digital payment tools like Visa, Mastercard and bKash App in the last week ending Saturday since Eid shopping started to pick up, according to a survey among 102 salesmen in the city’s 6 shopping malls.

?In the last year’s Eid shopping, three out of 10 payment transactions were made through digital payment tools like Visa, Master Card and bKash app, which indicates that more people are now moving towards a cashless environment.

?The survey was conducted among 350 Eid shoppers by the DIGITAL FINANCE team of THE BANGLADESH EXPRESS in association with Bangladesh Journalists’ Foundation For Consumers and Investors-BJFCI from 15 April to 22 April in Nayapalton, Taltola, Panthopath, Kawranbazar, Bashundhara and Shantinagor areas.

?The main reasons behind this shift in payment culture are the convenient and quick payment methodology most shoppers have learned from their experiences during the Covid pandemic days and the cashback offers by operators, according to the report released by the BJFCI.

?In the pandemic era, when people’s movement was restricted by lockdown, MFS appeared as a boon for them. They avoided cash and preferred bKash app to pay and receive money keeping physical distance from others.

?Cashback offers and discounts offered by the sellers for payment through mobile financial services (MFS) encourage shoppers to pay through MFS like bKash, Rocket, Nagad and others, the report noted.

?The respondents in the survey were both male and female shoppers aged ranging between 20 to 50 years and residents of different districts. Of them, 260 shoppers were girls and women.

?Most of them said that they are familiar with bKash app since the lockdowns period and now using it in Eid shopping to enjoy cash benefits. ?Among the respondents, 140 said that they use bKash app to gain cashback from bKash.

?Almost all shoppers in the survey said the pandemic taught them that contact-less payment is not only safe and healthy but also easy, convenient and quick.

?Paying for goods and services has never been more convenient than using a mobile payment system. This has created a new group of customers who are not unbanked but feel comfortable shopping with mobile payment.

?“I use bKash app to purchase goods and foods to enjoy cashback and avoid contamination”, said Fardin Ishak Ahmed, a student of North South University while he was busy with Eid shopping on Saturday at the city’s Twin Tower shopping mall. “It’s convenient, easy, quick and healthy”, he explained.

?“Before start shopping, I load up my bKash account as this saves me a lot of trouble with online shopping and the times I run out of cash at stores that do not accept cards”, Tomal, residing in Shanti Nagor said. “With bKash app, I feel easy to complete my shopping as most shoppers now accept bKash payment”.

?When transactions through internet banking, debit and credit card dropped significantly in Jan'22 as compared to Dec'21, mobile Banking transactions increased by 3.11% to Tk73393.3 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank. From Jul'21 to Jan'22, it jumped by 26.63% compared to the same period of the last year.

“Cash is no longer the king”, said Prof Zakir Hossain Jamal, Principal of a government college at Daudkandi. “The coronavirus outbreak has prompted us second thoughts about reaching for cash”.

?“As the government is trying to build a cashless society and Bangladesh Bank is very proactive to promote cashless transactions for many good reasons and operators are attracting shoppers with lucrative offers, the most Eid markets are becoming less cash”, Prof Zakir explained.

?Prof Zakir Hossain was paying a salesman through bKash app on Friday against his Eid purchases at Baily Star, a city’s reputed shopping mall in Shantinagar. He was accompanied by his two young daughters who just paid for food and goods through Visa cards.

?The Baily Star, a famous shopping mall in Dhaka city at Baily Road, was less crowded with shoppers at noon on Friday. But salesmen of most shops said they are happy with the current sales trends thanks to online shopping by a large number of youngsters and cashback offers by bKash.

?Shopping centres like Bashundhara city, Jamuna Park and Rapa Plaza and traditional markets like Mouchak, Arong and Taltola market were crowded with huge Eid shoppers.

Most sellers of these shopping centres said they are receiving a higher amount of payments through digital channels like bKash, Visa and Master cards this year compared to the previous years.

?Not only in shopping malls, but more people are also buying goods from traditional markets like Mouchack, Gausia, Taltola and different footpaths through mobile payments. A good number of sellers at traditional markets said for the first time this year they are receiving payments through bKash app, according to the survey report.

?“To boost digital transactions for a better economy, the government should encourage people by providing them incentives in digital payments like it has been providing to boost remittance earnings”, the report suggests.

The report was published in THE BANGLADESH EXPRESS ( www.thebangladeshexpress) on April 27, 2022