11 April 2024
Banglalink has partnered with mobile financial service provider bKash and City Bank to finance 4G smartphone purchases for customers to make the devices more affordable and in turn boost 4G adoption.
Under the agreement, customers who want to buy a 4G smartphone can use the bKash app to get a nano-loan based collateral-free Pay Later option to pay for the device. The plan allows customer to buy 4G smartphones under instalment plans ranging from three to six months at an annual interest rate of 9% per annum. Customers who qualify can receive instant loans up to Tk 30,000 at 0% interest, provided they repay the full amount within seven days.
The plans can be used to buy 4G smartphones at Banglalink service centres and any of the telco’s device partner outlets that have bKash merchant accounts.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there were 189.6 million mobile subscribers in the country as of October 2023. Of that, 100 million – or around 53% – use 4G. Industry observers have cited 4G device affordability and accessibility as a key barrier to 4G adoption in Bangladesh.
Banglalink chief commercial officer Upanga Dutta said that the tie-up with bKash and City Bank is designed to make 4G devices affordable enough to encourage more people to transition from 2G and 3G services.
“This service will let customers purchase their desired smartphones in easy instalments,” said Dutta. “Hence, an increasing number of customers will be able to upgrade to smartphone usage and benefit from the power of Internet in their daily lives.”
