Quick answer: A bKash merchant account is a business account tied to the bKash API, and it is the tier that connects to automated gateway checkout. Approval is commonly cited around 3 to 7 days, with transaction fees around 1.5% to 1.8%. A personal retail account opens faster but is not a gateway integration. Nagad merchant onboarding is commonly cited around 24 to 48 hours at around 1.0% to 1.5%. On Banikh today, Cash on Delivery with phone OTP verification is live and gateway checkout is rolling out.
One thing to clear up before anything else: a bKash merchant account is not a bKash agent or retailer point. An agent point serves walk-in customers doing cash in and cash out. A merchant account is what an online seller uses to take payment for orders. This post is about the second one.
The Two Giants of Bangladeshi Mobile Payments
If you're running an online store in Bangladesh, mobile payments are part of the landscape whether you take them directly or not. There are two clear leaders: bKash (owned by BRAC Bank, backed by Ant Group) and Nagad (owned by the Bangladesh Post Office).
Together, they cover a wallet base commonly cited at over 150 million registered accounts (as of 2026, check current figures). Here's how merchant payments generally work with each, and what's actually available on Banikh right now.
bKash Merchant Account: Fees and Setup Time
Market share: commonly cited around 70% of mobile financial transactions in Bangladesh, treat as approximate.
Two account types exist in the market:
- Personal Retail account: a consumer-facing account many Facebook and online sellers have historically used to receive money from customers directly. It's quick to open with an NID.
- Merchant Account: a business account tied to the bKash API, with an approval process commonly cited around 3 to 7 days. This is the tier that plugs into automated payment-gateway checkout.
For background: receiving payments to a personal-number account is common in informal F-commerce, but it isn't a merchant payment-gateway integration and isn't how checkout works on Banikh.
Transaction fee: commonly cited around 1.5% to 1.8% per transaction, varies by agreement, so check current rates.
Why merchants care about bKash: a very large share of Bangladeshis have a bKash wallet, and it's a common payment expectation for online shoppers.
Nagad Merchant Account: Fees and Setup Time
Market share: commonly cited around 25% and growing, treat as approximate.
Setup requirements (general market info):
- NID and selfie verification
- A Nagad merchant account, with onboarding commonly cited around 24 to 48 hours
- API credentials
Transaction fee: commonly cited around 1.0% to 1.5% per transaction, so check current rates.
Why merchants care about Nagad: generally faster onboarding, competitive transaction fees, and strong adoption in rural areas, plus cashback incentives that can drive purchases.
What's Actually Live on Banikh Today
Here's the honest, current state: Cash on Delivery with phone-OTP verification is live on every Banikh store today, and COD is still how most Bangladeshi customers prefer to pay. bKash, Nagad, and card payments through payment gateways are rolling out. When gateway checkout lands, you'll be able to enable it directly from your Banikh dashboard, with no developer needed.
We're not going to pretend you can connect bKash or Nagad checkout on Banikh right now, because you can't yet. What you get today is COD that's already trusted by Bangladeshi shoppers, with OTP verification cutting down fake and ghost orders out of the box.
Should You Offer Both When Gateway Checkout Lands?
Yes, most sellers should. Here's why:
- Some customers only have bKash, some only have Nagad
- Offering both is commonly associated with a meaningful lift in checkout completion, often cited in the 15% to 20% range and varying by store, versus offering only one
- Once gateway checkout is live on Banikh, turning on both should take a couple of clicks from your dashboard, not a separate integration for each
Cash on Delivery (COD): Still Important, and Live Today
Despite the rise of mobile payments, COD still accounts for a large share of ecommerce orders in Bangladesh, commonly cited around 40% and varying by category, especially for:
- First-time customers who don't trust new stores
- Customers in rural areas with limited mobile internet
- Higher-value purchases where customers want to inspect before paying
Banikh supports COD out of the box, with phone-OTP verification on by default and no configuration needed.
Summary
| bKash | Nagad | COD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup time (general market) | Personal Retail: same day · Merchant API: 3 to 7 days (approx.) | 1 to 2 days (approx.) | Instant |
| Transaction fee (general market) | ~1.5% to 1.8% (check current rates) | ~1.0% to 1.5% (check current rates) | None |
| Market reach (approx.) | ~70% | ~25% | All |
| Live on Banikh today? | Rolling out | Rolling out | ✅ Live now |
Start with COD, because it's live on Banikh today and it's what most customers already choose. Enable bKash and Nagad gateway checkout as those integrations roll out on your dashboard.
