Evaly welcomes commerce ministry’s decision
A commerce ministry meeting today decided that e-commerce merchants will receive money only after delivering products to customers
E-commerce marketplace Evaly has welcomed the decision of the commerce ministry to engage a third party to hold the money paid by customers of online merchants until delivery of ordered products.
In a media release, Evaly CEO Mohammad Russell said, "Decisions from any regulator are applicable not only for Evaly, but for all. We appreciate it."
Noting the absence of e-commerce regulations, Russell further said, "We believe that today's decision is the first step in formulating regulations. We also believe that this will benefit the entire ecosystem including customers, merchants and marketplaces."
Ha noted that an SOP service will soon be developed through Bangladesh Bank to ensure that payment is not made before delivery of the product. The payment will be controlled by the banks or other institutions with credit card services.
A meeting on online merchants was held at the Ministry of Commerce this afternoon, in presence of the high ups and all stakeholders.
The meeting decided that e-commerce merchants will receive money only after delivering products to customers. A third party company, which will work as a payment gateway, will hold the money until products reach the customers.
According to a report by the central bank published on June 20, e-commerce site Evaly's liabilities to customers and merchants had risen to Tk403.80 crore, while its current assets were worth only Tk65.17 crore.
It said that till 14 March this year, Evaly did not deliver products against a cumulative sum of Tk213.94 crore in advance payments from customers. Moreover, the company owed Tk189.85 crore to the merchants from whom it bought products.
The damning report spurred a number of banks to suspend online transactions of its card holders with 10 e-commerce sites: Evaly, Alesha Mart, Dhamaka, E-orange, Sirajganj Shop, Aladiner Prodip, Qcoom, Boom Boom, Adyen Mart and Needs.
A few banks also warned its clients against using cards for online transactions, cautioning them against possible fraud.
Brac Bank Ltd was the first to instruct its customers not to use their cards for purchasing goods from these 10 online merchants. It was followed by Bank Asia.
Today, Dhaka Bank Ltd suspended the use of their cards for transactions with the 10 e-commerce sites.
City Bank authorities earlier on Tuesday too issued a notice saying the bank will not be held responsible for any fraud stemming from using their American Express (Amex) card for online shopping.