Thukten Zangpo 

Bank of Bhutan (BoB) clients can now apply for loans and others can make cashless transactions without a BoB account through its new digital platforms, eLoan and goBoB.

Both were launched on November 11 coinciding with the 66th birth anniversary of His Majesty The Fourth Druk Gyalpo.

The eLoan is a digital lending platform for salaried account holders and customers can apply online through mBoB and the bank’s website. The loan process will be complete within two days, bank officials said.

Chief Executive Officer of BoB, Dorji Kadin said, “Earlier customers had to visit three times to apply for a loan from the bank. With eLoan, the customers have to visit the bank once only for the signing of the legal document.”

Initially, these services are only limited to consumer loan, festival loan, settlement loan and vehicle loan to government employees.

Anyone with a valid Bhutanese mobile number can instantly register using the goBoB application, a digital wallet, and can make transactions both online and offline.

Dorji Kadin said that with goBoB, tourists can facilitate a seamless payment system to all merchants across the country with a QR code since they can add money from their Visa or Mastercard, BoB account to the goBoB account.

A user can also load the goBoB balance through depositing money in the BoB’s bank, bank account and wallet to wallet.

An official from BoB said that minors above 10 years can also register for goBoB and do basic minimal transactions.

The goBoB provides banking services such as balance enquiry, bank statement, deposits, withdrawals and transfers, B-mobile recharge and QR code payments.

“The objective of the additional digital banking services is to achieve greater financial inclusion, promote cashless transactions and to bring every citizen into the financial ecosystem,” Dorji Kadin said.

He added that with the Covid-19 increasing restrictions to keep away from public places to restrain the spread of the virus, digital banking has become the best option to continue providing banking services to customers.

Edited by Tshering Palden