Refunds continue to remain ever elusive for e-commerce customers who were not delivered products against advance payments, with the process facing a new hiccup yesterday.

Walton, one of top local electronics and home appliance manufacturers and exporters, yesterday launched its e-commerce platform Walcart Limited to capture a major share of the growing online business.

Bangladesh Bank has asked electronic payment gateways to start paying back money to the customers who did not get delivery of products from the rogue e-commerce platforms despite making advance payments.

Having already taken huge amounts in advance payments pledging hefty discounts and now limping to deliver products or refunds, Alesha Mart has now requested the commerce ministry to help secure a Tk 300 crore loan.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it will reorganise its international and domestic e-commerce businesses and replace its CFO - changes that come as the tech giant grapples with an onslaught of competition, a slowing economy and a regulatory crackdown.

E-commerce customers and merchants waiting for their money stuck in the central bank’s payment gateway can expect their amounts from next week, said the chief of the commerce ministry’s Digital Commerce Cell yesterday.

Beleaguered e-commerce platform Alesha Mart has halted its official operations until further notice citing an unwanted situation and inadequate security.

The commerce ministry would ask Bangladesh Bank to start providing customers with refunds of advance payments that were made to e-commerce firms but got stuck with payment gateways for non-delivery of goods, said a senior official yesterday.

E-commerce platform Alesha Mart has shut all of its official activities temporary from today.

Every e-commerce and F-commerce company in Bangladesh will soon have to apply for a Unique Business Identification Number (UBIN) from the Digital Commerce Cell (DCC) as the commerce ministry is set to launch the registration from this month.

A fraudulence case involving Tk 15 crore has been filed against four persons of a Rajbari business which had been sealed off and fined Tk 2 lakh earlier this month for selling substandard products.

All e-commerce companies will soon have to come under one digital platform monitored by multiple state agencies, as the government looks to increase oversight on the sector that has become a hotbed for irregularities in recent months.

Although industry people do not want a new law or regulatory agency, some legal experts and a consumer rights body said those were necessary to oversee the industry now plagued with scams and controversies and protect the interests of stakeholders, including merchants.  

The refunding of the e-commerce companies’ stuck up money at the central bank’s payment gateway to the affected e-commerce consumers and merchants will delay further because of delays in vetting by the law ministry.

Daraz, one of the largest e-commerce companies in Bangladesh, has recently had its biggest promotion event 11.11. The platform posted Tk 190 crore in sales during the daylong campaign. On the occasion of its single largest promotion, we spoke to Bjarke Mikkelsen, founder and CEO of Daraz Group. He shares his vision and thoughts for Daraz in Bangladesh with Shahriar Rahman from The Daily Star.

Some Japanese companies are thinking of entering the e-commerce business in Bangladesh, said ITO Naoki, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, yesterday.

Customers’ wait for refunds of advance payments, which eventually got stuck at payment gateways for deliveries not being made by e-commerce firms, is likely to be prolonged as the government wants to examine legal issues first.

Online marketplace Daraz Bangladesh has taken huge preparations for the biggest one-day sale campaign “Eleven Eleven” to keep its promise to present with the best customer and seller support.

The newly formed five-member Evaly board today sealed off four of it warehouses in Savar.

Recently, there has been a hue and cry in the e-commerce sector of Bangladesh with massive allegations of fraud. Customers paid the e-commerce merchants for different goods, but they did not receive the product.