Rezaul Hossain has joined UCB Fintech Company Limited (Upaya) as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Financial Services Provider.
UCB Fintech Company Limited, a subsidiary of UCB Bank, is providing mobile financial services across the country under the name ‘Upaya’.
As a leading figure in the telecom and mobile financial sector in Bangladesh, Rezaul has 27 years of experience in sales, marketing and distribution at the leading level of various domestic and multinational companies including Grameenphone, Citycell, Airtel and Bikash. Bangladesh’s telecommunications and financial technology sector has prospered under his innovative and strong leadership.
Prior to joining Way, Rezaul was associated with a number of organizations, including the Bangladesh Postal Department’s digital financial services startup ‘Nagad’. In 2016, he set up ‘Cash’ with some Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
Prior to that, he led the way in development from 2011 to 2016 as Chief Commercial Officer. Starting from the initial stage, in just five years, Bikash has increased the number of subscribers to 22 million. As a result, Bikash has become the world’s largest mobile financial services provider in terms of number of customers, agents and transactions.
Commenting on Rezaul’s joining, Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Chairman, UCB Fintech Company Limited, said, From the side of Rezaul Hossain to take Upaya to a unique height, Upaya Board of Directors will closely cooperate with him. We are hopeful that an experienced and skilled business leader like Rezaul Hossain will establish Upay as one of the leading MFS organizations in Bangladesh keeping in view the strategic goals of Upay. His unique experience in the field of telecommunications and MFS and his ability to take a company from zero to a successful position will definitely establish a strong position in the way of digital financial industry in Bangladesh.
Rezaul, the newly appointed managing director and CEO of Upay, said, “I am very excited to join Upay. Although a new brand in the financial services sector, it has huge potential to provide innovative services in the market. I would like to use my long experience and expertise to take the financial technology sector of Bangladesh forward. We want to play a role in achieving the business growth of the way by providing customers a pleasant experience by launching new services keeping in mind the needs of the customers.
After receiving a license from Bangladesh Bank in December 2020, Upaya started its commercial activities in March 2021. At present, Upaya has 4 million subscribers and about one lakh agents across the country.
