If you wander around the Khilgaon Taltola City Corporation Super Market, you may come across a number of fish traders lining the outside.

Although that in itself is not an unusual sight in markets around Bangladesh, the key difference in this market is that even these fish traders will accept cashless payments, as will the other 1,047 small and large merchants that have set up shop inside the market.

This comes as part of an initiative aiming to empower over a thousand small and large merchants with digital payment acceptance infrastructure.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) today announced a collaboration with Mastercard to inaugurate the Cashless Khilgaon Taltola City Corporation Super Market.

The other partners in the initiative include City Bank PLC, Mutual Trust Bank PLC, and SSLCOMMERZ.

Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager of Bangladesh at Mastercard, added that merchants at the market will now be able to accept payments through Bangla QR and POS machines, allowing them to create a digital footprint for their businesses and get access to formal financial services.

At the same time, consumers will be able to make quick and secure digital payments through cards, bank apps, and mobile wallets, he added.

Khairul Islam, a vendor selling cosmetics, bags, toys and watches, told The Daily Star that he welcomed the initiative but added that it would take some time for customers to get used to it.

"For example, if I sell products worth Tk 100 in a day, Tk 80 is paid in cash," he said, providing a glimpse of the average situation.

Vikas Varma, chief operating officer of South Asia at Mastercard, said: "As Bangladesh moves towards a cashless future, initiatives like these will play a key role in encouraging merchants and consumers to embrace digital payments."

He added that Mastercard was proud to collaborate with the DNCC to empower merchants to begin their digital journey and become a part of the country's thriving finance sector.

DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam said: "DNCC is working with a smart transaction system in Smart Bangladesh. We have already launched online holding tax and online trade licence facilities."

Citizens can avail these services from the convenience of their home, he added.

The DNCC piloted the cashless initiative by transforming the DNCC-1 Market in Gulshan into the country's first cashless market by empowering more than 1,200 merchants with digital payment facilities.

Sharafat Ullah Khan, director of the payment systems department of the BB, said the central bank's "Cashless Bangladesh" initiative was cost-effective and secure, and would help promote digital transactions in an economy that relies almost entirely on paper currencies to function.

The BB commenced a campaign in January 2023 to popularise an interoperable QR code across the capital city in a move to bring millions of small businesses such as street vendors and lower-income groups under a digital transaction system.