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The High Court will hear on Tuesday a rule issued over allegations that mobile financial service (MFS) providers bKash, Nagad and Rocket are arbitrarily charging customers excessive service fees.
A High Court bench headed by Justice Md Mazibur Rahman Mia fixed the hearing date on Monday (November 2). Advocate Obaidullah Al Mamun Sakib appeared for the petitioner.
Earlier, the High Court issued a rule asking why the collection of excessive service charges by bKash, Nagad and Rocket should not be declared illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to law.
The court also sought to know why a separate law should not be enacted to regulate MFS service charges and ensure customer protection and accountability.
The writ petition particularly emphasised the need to ensure reasonable, fair and affordable service charges for poor and banking-excluded people.
The rule was issued by a High Court bench comprising Justice Md Mazibur Rahman Mia and Justice Md Rezaul Karim.
The bench asked the relevant respondents, including the finance secretary, the secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division and the Bangladesh Bank governor, to respond to the rule within four weeks.
The writ petition stated that mobile financial services had become an important means of daily financial transactions for millions of people across the country.
Rural communities, low-income people and those without access to conventional banking services are particularly dependent on these platforms, it said.
In such circumstances, excessive and unreasonable service charges are placing an additional financial burden on ordinary customers, according to the petition.
The hearing is expected to address the justification for the existing service charges, the role of regulatory authorities in determining fees and the adequacy of the current legal framework for protecting customers’ interests.
The relevant stakeholders will be closely watching the court’s observations and any further directives at Tuesday’s hearing.
