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Bangladesh plans to implement full interoperability across its entire payment ecosystem by July 2027, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur announced on Monday.

Speaking at a knowledge-sharing event titled “Instant Payments in Bangladesh: Unveiling Inclusion Opportunities”—jointly organised by Bangladesh Bank and the Gates Foundation—the governor said the central bank has already signed a digital agreement with the foundation to build the necessary infrastructure.

Dr Mansur highlighted the success of the Gates Foundation’s Inclusive Instant Payment System (IIPS) in several countries and said Bangladesh aims to replicate that model by bringing banks, mobile financial service providers, microfinance institutions and payment system operators under a single interoperable framework.

He said a unified system would significantly reduce transaction costs, ensure transparency, expand the country’s tax potential, and accelerate the shift toward a cashless or less-cash society.

“We need to move away from cash. This could be a major step toward achieving our core objective of a cashless or less-cash society,” he said.