To deliver modern and cashless services to citizens at their doorstep, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) and Aspire to Innovate (a2i). The agreement was formally concluded todayin the a2i Conference Room at the ICT Tower in Agargaon, Dhaka.
As a result, residents of Gazipur City Corporation will now be able to pay fees for various civic services, including holding tax, trade license, water supply, and sewerage management online through a2i’s integrated payment gateway, ekPay. In this process, they will have access to multiple payment channels, including mobile financial services (bKash, Nagad, Upay, Rocket, Tap, TeleCash, etc.), card payments (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, TakaPay), internet banking, and e-wallets.
The event was chaired by Md. Abdur Rofiq, Project Director (Additional Secretary) of a2i. The Chief Guest was Muhammad Sohel Hasan, Chief Executive Officer (Joint Secretary) of GCC. Md. Rashidul Mannaf Kabir, Joint Project Director (Joint Secretary) of a2i, spoke as Special Guest. The welcome address was delivered by Abdullah Al Fahim, Head of Program Management at a2i. Also present were Mohammad Masudur Rahman, Chief Technology Officer of a2i; Mohammad Safiul Azam, Head of Communications; Muhammad Shahadat Hossain, Consultant (ekPay); along with other senior officials from a2i and Gazipur City Corporation.
Highlighting that a2i is always ready and keen to make citizen services more modern and people-friendly, Project Director Md. Abdur Rofiqsaid:“Digitizing government services makes service delivery more transparent and easier. As a service recipient, I also want to receive the service virtually, easily, and within a short time. Since payments for GCC’s services will be digitized through ekPay, the people of Gazipur will benefit. We also feel fortunate to be associated with this process.”
Muhammad Sohel Hasan said, “There is no alternative to digital payment systems to reduce citizen suffering, and this initiative is an important step towards building a new Bangladesh. He added that the decision to launch ekPay services was taken after necessary verification and assessment. Through this agreement, the people of Gazipur will be able to pay fees for essential civic services online at any time without the hassle of standing in long lines, which will bring transparency and dynamism to the city corporation’s revenue management.”
Md. Rashidul Mannaf Kabir said, “Our journey has begun with GCC as the fifth city corporation. We are hopeful that the public will greatly benefit from this service.”
Explaining the objective and summary of the MoU, Abdullah Al Fahim said, “GCC has opened its service payments online through ekPay for citizens. This is another step toward building a cashless, modern, and people-friendly Bangladesh. This initiative also supports a2i’s commitment to deliver services to people’s doorsteps. We assure to continue to provide full cooperation to achieve this goal.”