bKash and Ant Financial in strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion for the unbanked in Bangladesh

DHAKA, April 26 (NsNewsWire) — The leading mobile financial services
provider of Bangladesh, bKash Limited (“bKash”) and Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”),
operator of Alipay, today announced a strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion for the
unbanked and underbanked communities in Bangladesh. The partnership involves Ant Financial
investing into bKash and increasing its technological capabilities, allowing it to provide greater
convenience and security in mobile financial services throughout Bangladesh.
Established in 2010 by founding shareholders, BRAC Bank Limited and Money in Motion LLC, bKash is
running a network of more than 180,000 agents throughout urban and rural areas of Bangladesh
with over 30 million registered accounts.
“Along with its investment, Alipay brings the best payment technologies built by thousands of
engineers and the knowledge of applying those technologies to economies like China which went
through a massive transformation in recent years. Such track record makes Ant Financial a fitting
partner for bKash since Bangladesh too has a large population of 160 million and an economy that is
advancing rapidly. This investment opens many new opportunities for bKash and demonstrates the
confidence a world-class player is placing in Bangladesh,”said Kamal Quadir, Chief Executive Officer
of bKash.
“Ant Financial and bKash share similar goals, in that we want to bring equal opportunities to
everyone here in Bangladesh. bKash can tap on the experience Alipay has built over the last decade
serving 800 million users together with our strategic partners worldwide. As part of Ant Financial’s
global strategy, we are keen to share our technology know-how with partners like bKash, who has
successfully brought financial services to the largely unbanked population in Bangladesh. bKash is
managed by a strong team with deep local knowledge and execution capabilities. We are confident,
together with bKash, we can bring highly secure and inclusive financial services to address the needs
of local people and small businesses here,” said Eric Jing, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Ant Financial.
“bKash, a company taking financial services to the doorsteps of millions of unbanked people in
Bangladesh, will benefit immensely from this landmark partnership with Ant Financial. It will help
bKash significantly step up its activities in changing and positively impacting on the lives of millions,”
said Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director and CEO of BRAC Bank.
bKash and Ant Financial were both named in Fortune Change The World 2017 list, a recognition
given to companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their
core business strategy.1
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have been
shareholders in bKash, since 2013 and 2014 respectively. Press Release