Joy’s Story

Joy is a 22 year old student at a private university in Dhaka. He also works part-time as a computer operator at an electric shop. With a smartphone at his disposal, he is fully capable of managing all functions of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) like cashing out, sending money, and recharging mobile phones independently.

For a few years, Joy had been using his account for regular transactions, but he decided to open a different account after learning about its lower cash-out charge. He came across the 9.99 BDT per thousand cash-out fee through posters, banners, and TV advertisements, and further confirmed the information with some friends who already used the brand.

After verifying the benefits, Joy chose to use his regularly used SIM to open the account, as the network was reliable in Dhaka. For the registration process, Joy decided to visit a trusted agent he regularly used for cash-in and cash-out transactions.

One Saturday morning, Joy went to the agent's busy shop, which sold other products like toys and cosmetics in addition to offering mobile network operator (MNO) and MFS services. Upon expressing his intent to open an account, the agent informed Joy that an NID was required. Since Joy didn’t have his physical NID with him, he asked if an online copy would suffice. The agent agreed to try, and after Joy emailed the copy, the agent printed it out and began the registration process.

The agent initially signed the registration on Joy’s behalf, a common practice in some shops due to the difficulty many customers face when signing on screens or the risk of damaging devices. However, Joy stopped him and requested to sign himself, the agent erased his signature and allowed Joy to do it instead. After completing the registration, Joy set his own PIN and left the shop satisfied with the service.