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Bank Asia and Mastercard have announced their collaboration with Payoneer to process faster payments for Bangladeshi freelancers with Shadhin Card.
Earlier this year, Bank Asia Limited, in collaboration with Mastercard and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), had launched the Shadhin Mastercard card.
On Thursday, they announced their collaboration with Payoneer in a programme held in the city for faster processing of freelancers’ cross-border digital payments through the card.
The freelancers are well accustomed to the online platform to receive their freelance earnings in their Payoneer accounts from various marketplaces such as upwork.com, freelancer.com, etc.
The integration will ease the traditionally cumbersome process of receiving the earnings by a simple transfer through Payoneer into their Shadhin cards in the local currency as well as in a foreign currency.
Mr Ahmed Jamal, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank was present at the programme as the chief guest.
Mr Syed Almas Kabir, President, BASIS along with Mr Arfan Ali, President & Managing Director, Bank Asia Limited; Mr Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, Mastercard Bangladesh, Mr Patrick de Courcy, Head of Asia Pacific, Payoneer, and other high officials of the respective organisations were also present at the event.
Through the Shadhin Card, freelancers can legally receive their earnings online for services rendered, in a secure ecosystem, thereby creating a digitally empowered freelancer community in Bangladesh.
The cardholders can also enjoy all the benefits of Mastercard and Bank Asia locally and internationally, the officials said.
Freelancers can link their Shadhin Mastercard cards with their respective Payoneer accounts using the Bank Asia Smart App.
These cards are Export Retention Quota (ERQ) enabled which enables freelancers to enjoy 70 per cent of their freelance earnings for any kind of international payment related to their work in USD.
If a freelancer wants to use his/her entire earnings in Bangladeshi Taka, s/he can do so using the Shadhin card, they said.
Through the collaboration, freelancers can now transfer their money from/to Shadhin Cards using the Bank Asia Smart App and meet their foreign payment obligations in foreign currency up to 70 per cent of loaded amount and can withdraw the rest or full in local currency from any nearby ATM booth, Mr Arfan Ali said.
Patrick de Courcy, Head of Asia Pacific, Payoneer said, “We are committed to continue innovating to empower the thriving service export industry in Bangladesh.”
Syed Almas Kabir, President, BASIS, said, “Bangladesh is at crossroads and about to take a giant leap in the e-commerce space.”
“We believe that BASIS, with the support of companies such as Mastercard, is crucially placed to facilitate this leap. This integration is another milestone on the way to building the nation towards the vision of Digital Bangladesh.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, Bangladesh, Mastercard said, “This is a fantastic initiative by Mastercard and Bank Asia, which is very much in sync with the country’s vision of building a financially inclusive society.”
“This integration with Payoneer is a value addition to Shadhin Mastercard cards which will benefit the freelancer community by enabling them to receive their hard-earned income in the fastest possible time,” he said.