VEON Digital Financial Group and Square Group's joint venture has received a digital bank licence from Bangladesh Bank.
The licence marks VEON's entry into digital banking in Bangladesh, a market where the group is already active in payments through its subsidiary Banglalink.
From payments to banking
The approval builds on the Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence held by Banglalink, a fully owned subsidiary of VEON, for its Mukto Pay digital payments service. With the new licence, the group's activities in Bangladesh extend from payment services to digital banking. The structure brings together a telecommunications operator and a domestic conglomerate.
According to the announcement, the digital bank will integrate with Banglalink's mobile ecosystem to provide financial services to mobile users across Bangladesh. This model links the distribution of banking services directly to an existing mobile customer base rather than relying on a standalone channel.
Square Group is one of Bangladesh's business conglomerates, with operations across pharmaceuticals, textiles, food and beverages, and other sectors.
Investment framework
The licence forms part of VEON's 'Invest in Bangladesh NOW!' initiative, a public-private partnership with the Government of Bangladesh launched in New York during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week. Under the initiative, VEON has committed an initial USD 250 million anchor investment aimed at mobilising USD 1 billion in foreign direct investment for the country.
VEON has placed the digital bank within a financial inclusion agenda. A company official described financial inclusion as central to eradicating poverty and characterised the approval as a step towards that objective in Bangladesh.
Group footprint and implications
VEON Digital Financial Group reported 59 million active financial services customers as of Q2 2026. That figure covers Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan; Bangladesh is not listed among these markets. Across its wider business, VEON provides connectivity and digital services to more than 150 million connectivity customers and over 227 million digital users in five countries.
For the Bangladeshi market, the approval adds a telecom-linked digital bank to the financial services landscape, backed by both a multinational operator and a local conglomerate. The combination of a PSP licence, a digital bank licence, and a mobile distribution network brings VEON's payments and banking activities in Bangladesh under one group. The announcement did not disclose a launch timeline, the planned product range, or the ownership split of the joint venture.
