Bangladesh moves to link all e-commerce to single tracking hub

Bangladesh has outlined plans to connect all e-commerce, courier, payment gateway, and virtual-service providers to a unified Central Logistics Tracking Platform (CLTP) to enhance transparency and consumer trust across the country’s rapidly growing digital commerce and payments ecosystem.

The policy direction was outlined at a high-level meeting on Tuesday (November 18) at the Postal Directorate, chaired by Abdun Naser Khan, secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, with Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the chief adviser’s special assistant for posts, telecommunications and ICT, attending as chief guest. 

Officials said the platform was developed under the a2i (Aspire to Innovate) programme and that its initial management will be vested in the Postal Directorate.

Under the plan, no payment to merchants will be released for an e-commerce order until CLTP issues a delivery confirmation signal. The system is designed to eliminate ad-hoc manual verification calls by payment providers and to ensure escrowed funds cannot be withdrawn in bulk; settlement will occur only after confirmed delivery to each customer address. 

Officials said CLTP will also define a dedicated process flow to protect consumers when “virtual goods” such as airline tickets are delivered.

Participants noted that nationwide implementation aligns with the National Logistics Policy 2025, recently approved by the interim government, and with Bangladesh Bank’s Merchant Acquiring and Escrow Service Policy 2023, both aimed at standardising tracking, settlement and dispute resolution in online commerce. 

Given CLTP’s business process closely mirrors postal logistics operations, the meeting agreed the Postal Directorate should manage the platform.

To operationalise the system, the Postal Directorate will coordinate with the Ministries of Commerce, Civil Aviation & Tourism, the ICT Division, Bangladesh Bank, the mailing operator and courier licensing authority, and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, among others. 

Stakeholders said the move is intended to establish new benchmarks for transparency, security and customer confidence in Bangladesh’s digital commerce market.