The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has sought account information of 11 e-commerce merchants from banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs), officials said.
The online merchants are: Alesha Mart, Dhamaka Shop, Sirajganj Shop, Aladiner Prodip, Boom Boom, Adyen Mart, Needs, Qcoom.com, Eorange.shop, Dalal Plus and Bajaj Collection.
The central bank's Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) sent two separate letters between June 23 and June 29 to all the banks and NBFIs, asking them to provide detailed account information of the merchants within five working days, they added.
Several banks have already suspended card transactions with some e-commerce platforms to avoid risk.
The BB's latest move came against the backdrop of a good number of customers alleging that they did not get products in time after purchasing those from the e-commerce sites.
In some cases, the advance payments were made months ago through cards or mobile financial services.
However, e-commerce operators in the country will have to deliver products to customers five days into receiving the order.
The provision has been incorporated, among others, in the 'Digital Commerce Operational Guide-2021'.
Additional Secretary of the commerce ministry Md Hafizur Rahman informed reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh presided over the meeting.
However, e-commerce companies will get a maximum of 10 days for delivering products if the products' destination is a different city or district, added Mr Hafizur, also chief of the government's central digital commerce cell.
The guide will now be sent to the law ministry for its vetting, he also mentioned.
Hafizur Rahman mentioned that various provisions had been included in the guide for protecting the interests of consumers.
President of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) Shomi Kaiser said the implementation of the guide would ensure healthy competition in the e-commerce sector and protect the rights of consumers.
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