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The central bank has instructed commercial banks, mobile financial service (MFS) providers and payment service providers (PSPs) to immediately suspend payment gateways and transaction channels linked to unlicensed digital lending platforms. The directives were issued by Bangladesh Bank on Monday, September 7, 2026.
The Payment Systems Supervision Department sent formal instructions to scheduled banks, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), licensed PSPs, MFS operators and postal financial service Nagad.
Under the directives, the institutions must immediately block transaction channels used by the identified applications and submit compliance reports to Bangladesh Bank by September 15, 2026.
Cybersecurity assessments have found that some unlicensed loan apps, operating under names such as ‘Rapid Loan’ and ‘Easy Cash’, or distributed through unauthorised APK files, seek extensive permissions when installed on smartphones.
Such apps can gain access to users’ contact lists, photo galleries, multimedia files and messages. When borrowers fail to repay loans carrying excessive interest charges, operators allegedly use the stolen data to carry out cyber blackmail, extortion and reputational attacks through social media.
Bangladesh Bank cited Section 15(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2024, saying that operating micro-lending, deposit collection or settlement services without regulatory approval is illegal and punishable under Section 37(1) of the law.
The central bank also warned that payment service providers facilitating transactions for unauthorised lending platforms could be considered complicit in the violations. Financial intermediaries have therefore been instructed, under Section 18(4) of the Act, to freeze merchant interfaces, payment links and virtual accounts operated by the developers of the offending applications.
Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said the regulatory measures were aimed at protecting consumers and maintaining stability in the country’s digital financial system.
He said legitimate credit services are provided only by licensed commercial banks, non-bank financial institutions and authorised microfinance institutions, rather than through unverified links circulated on social media.
He urged users to protect their personal data and avoid granting excessive smartphone permissions to untrusted applications.