Grameephone aspirations to become a bank

Grameenphone, with swindling profits and huge competition (thank you Banglalink for ending GP's dictatorship) has set its eyes on banking.

First stage in this process was to convince Bangladesh Bank (this is usually easy to do, because all it takes is paying for a few foreign trips and money). Lo and behold the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Salehuddin Ahmed (who hasn't really been neutral from the moment he stepped into office) [pictured left] now recommends that mobile remittance through SMS is the way forward.


The Lingo
GP terms this as mobile banking license. GP's lingo for these services are twisted to confuse the incumbents of Bangladesh Bank. But they all mean the same thing - a full fledged banking license. The currency of exchange will be the internationally renown GP talk-time, over the ever-so-secure SMS framework. These shortcomings are all accepeted if GP can send you abroad for free. Not to mention breaking all applicable anti money-laundering measures currently in place.

GP has gone ahead making as many enemies in the process as possible. None-the-less local banks are not happy.

More mobile licenses anyone?
Maybe local banks should apply for bank-mobile license? This license would allow them all to set up cell towers on all their branches to create a mesh network for a new cellphone company. But I am sure just to get even there will be even more mobile licenses issued because almost all high profile Bangladeshis are associated with a bank. GP could be digging their own grave.

Brac Bank's view
Brac Bank is also heavily invested in remittance. How this idea slipped through the influence that Rumi Ali in Bangladesh Bank is beyond me. Rumi Ali is the chairman of Brac Bank and has an astounding amount of influence in banking policies despite his sacking from Stan Chart. How these two NGO supported companies go head-to-head will be interesting.