Bangladesh Bank has taken the initiative to form an implementation committee under its Escrow policy, with the inclusion of stakeholders to regulate the country's e-commerce platforms.

This development was revealed at a meeting between the central bank and representatives from the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB) on Monday.

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Escrow is a legal concept describing a financial agreement whereby an asset or money is held by a third party on behalf of two other parties that are in the process of completing a transaction.

It is expected to be helpful to get around the problem whereby many e-commerce firms, whether running deliberate scams or going bust in the heat of competition,end up making off with enormous amounts of money  paid to them by customers, against which no goods have been delivered.

An escrow facility would see the money paid by the customer to set the transaction in motion, but the money would not go into the sellers' account till the buyer has received it satisfactorily.

In the meeting, Deputy Governor of BB Abu Farah Md Nasser said that the e-commerce sector is still new in the context of Bangladesh.

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 “There is still a lot to do in this promising sector,” he added.

This initiative aims to enhance order and security within the e-commerce sector, Nasser said.

Bangladesh Bank also announced the inclusion of key industry players such as the FBCCI, the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB), and e-commerce entrepreneurs in the committee.

FBCCI Vice President and E-CAB President Shomi Kaiser led the delegation of the Private sector.

Spokesperson and executive director of BB Md. Mezbaul Haque, ICAB Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Online Shopping Platform 'Daraz' Khondoker Tasfin Alam, E-Cab Director Mohammad Ilmul Haque, Ananya Raihan, etc were also present at the meeting.

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FBCCI urged Bangladesh Bank to consider raising the credit card limit, a request to which Bangladesh Bank responded positively, promising to review and potentially increase the limit later if needed.

During the meeting, private sector representatives voiced concerns and limitations related to the implementation of the escrow system.

Bangladesh Bank said that the 'Merchant Acquiring and Escrow Service Policy 2023' had been enacted to encourage consumer confidence in e-commerce platforms and combat fraud. An initiative has been taken to further revise this initiative and form a committee for its implementation.