During this traditionally busy period, we are looking for ways to make your money go further, maximising the amount received by your friends and family. The good news is, if you’re sending money to Bangladesh, the latest promotion from bKash will help you to do just that.
Through Small World, and our partnerships with businesses across the world, unlock benefits that help you and your loved ones.
What is the bKash promotion?
bKash is a financial service provider in Bangladesh providing safe, convenient and easy ways to make and receive payments, including money transfer, via mobile phones to both the unbanked and banked. With their new promotion, if you send more than BDT 10,000 to a bKash mobile wallet your recipient will receive an extra 1% bonus. This is on top of the government’s existing 2% incentive which means that a total of 3% will be added to the amount of you send.
All your recipient needs to do is download the bKash app and setup an account and then you can make the most of this promotion.
The exact amount to send will depend on today’s currency rate in Bangladesh, but here is an example of how your recipient will benefit from the bKash promotion, not including any associated fees.
Example 1 – Transfer £200
To bKash mobile wallet:
Amount sent (GBP) |
Exchange Rate |
Original Amount Received (BDT) |
3% incentive (2% + 1%) |
Total Received (BDT) |
200 |
1GBP = 113BDT |
22,600 |
678 |
23,278 |
Amount sent (GBP) |
Exchange Rate |
Original Amount Received (BDT ) |
2% incentive |
Total Received (BDT) |
200 |
1GBP = 113BDT |
22,600 |
452 |
23,052 |
You can see in both examples that your beneficiary will receive more money if you send money with bKash and also that a larger transfer means a larger incentive. With less people able to travel this year and spend time with loved ones, it’s reassuring that the money you send digitally will be worth even more when it’s received.
Another reason to consider sending one large transfer rather than several smaller ones is that your first digital transfer with Small World is transfer-fee free and you will therefore be getting even better value for money. This is a great time to use Small World in combination with mobile wallets to get the most out of your money transfer.
What is a mobile wallet?
To get the 1% from bKash your recipient must have a mobile wallet, available to download from the bKash website. A mobile wallet is a digital version of a physical wallet. It is a secure way of storing payment details (credit and debit cards as well as cash balances) and can also receive payments, including international money transfer.
As recently reported in The Financial, the number of internet users in Bangladesh as almost doubled in the past five years. Some 67% of the country’s population now have access to the internet, mainly through smart phones.
Who benefits from the existing 2% promotion?
Announced back in 2019, the 2% government incentive is added to the sent value of transfers based on the amount when converted into BDT. Documentation is not required on remittances up to TK 500,000. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the global economy, the government wanted to increase remittance to Bangladesh sent home through legal channels, which is why they introduced this incentive.The Dhaka Tribune is reporting that 2020 will be a record year for remittance, which shows just how effective the scheme has been even during this difficult time.
With Bangladeshis overseas continuing to support friends and family back home in record numbers, the bKash promotion couldn’t have come at a better time.
The most popular ways to send money to Bangladesh:
- Cash Pick-Up
- Bank Deposit
- Mobile Top-up
Our main partners in Bangladesh are Janata Bank, Agrani Bank, Uttara Bank, National Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Rupali Bank, Social Islami Bank, Bank Asia, Southeast Bank, Union Bank, SBAC Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, Bank Asia
