The central bank of Bangladesh Sunday directed banks not to receive advance payments for digital-commerce entities against goods and services ordered by end-use customers, post-facto some reported scams.
A circular issued on the day said many digital-commerce companies have reportedly been taking advance of payments through their respective company accounts against their goods and services.
A rule issued earlier by the Ministry of Commerce had asked the e-commerce firms to take payments only after delivery of goods to customers. A third party called gateway will hold the money until the goods reach the final customers.
The commerce ministry enforced the rule following a number of scams allegedly committed by some e-commerce companies.
Some e-commerce enterprises' liabilities built up much above their respective current assets, according to an inspection.
For example, the much-talked-about e-Valley upstart whose liabilities rose to Tk 4.0 billion plus against its current asset amounting to Tk 650 million.
The Bangladesh Bank circular says that some digital commerce entities have been taking advance of payment against goods and services bypassing the digital commerce operation guidelines 2021 and a payment-system- department circular on the matter.
It says in its decree to banks: "No such direct advance transactions or proceeds of the digital commerce firms."
The central bank ordered the banks to exercise properly 'due diligence' and take into account transaction profiles and others of such shop-less digital-commerce companies.
jasimharoon@yahoo.com