Dhaka, April 3 -- Bangladesh Bank (BB) has made it mandatory for all banks and payment service providers to adopt a single, interoperable QR code system -- 'Bangla QR' -- across all merchant points by June 30, in a major push to streamline and secure the country's digital payment ecosystem.

In a circular issued on April 1, the central bank instructed all scheduled banks, mobile financial service (MFS) providers, payment service providers (PSPs) and payment system operators (PSOs) to phase out proprietary QR codes and replace them with the unified Bangla QR platform within the stipulated deadline.

The regulator warned that failure to comply could attract severe consequences under Section 37(5) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 20...