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Bangladesh Bank on Sunday (September 27) night issued a regulatory circular establishing mandatory timeframes for commercial banks and mobile financial service (MFS) operators to resolve consumer disputes arising from failed or erroneous Bangla QR transactions. Under the newly promulgated framework issued by the Payment Systems Department, financial institutions must resolve intra-bank QR transaction disputes within three business days and inter-bank disputes within seven business days. The central bank emphasized that safeguarding customer confidence is fundamental to expanding interoperable cashless payments across the national economy.
The directive comes amid exponential growth in Bangla QR retail adoptions across grocery stores, roadside pharmacies, and transit counters nationwide. However, a surge in technical timeouts, system dropouts, and double-debiting incidents has left consumers frustrated by protracted customer-care delays that previously took up to a month to refund disputed amounts. The central bank's audit found that fragmented reconciliation protocols between issuing banks and acquiring merchants were severely impeding the nationwide digital retail payment transition.
According to the operational guidelines, if a financial institution fails to settle a valid customer claim within the stipulated seven-day deadline, it will be penalized with an automated recurring daily compensatory fine payable directly to the aggrieved account holder. Furthermore, all licensed commercial banks and payment system providers (PSPs) are now legally obligated to establish automated chargeback routing modules integrated directly with the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB). This automated mechanism guarantees that failed debits are instantly logged and reversed without requiring prolonged paper-based correspondence.
Consumer rights advocates and digital commerce associations warmly welcomed the central bank's intervention, noting that rapid dispute settlement eliminates one of the biggest friction points preventing micro-merchants and rural shoppers from adopting cashless platforms. Market researchers observed that establishing strict liability for payment service providers will compel commercial lenders to upgrade their digital core banking infrastructure and reduce API server latencies. The circular also mandates that financial service desks maintain dedicated 24-hour Bangla QR dispute hotlines.
Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Husne Ara Shikha stated on Sunday night, "Ensuring prompt refunding of disputed cashless transactions protects consumer rights and cements national trust in the smart financial ecosystem." She warned that persistent non-compliance by any commercial bank or MFS provider will attract severe administrative penalties and deductions from their statutory reserves. She affirmed that the central bank is steadfastly committed to achieving a resilient, customer-centric digital payments architecture across Bangladesh.
