Shops sometimes ask you to send money to a personal number instead. How is that different from a merchant payment, and which should you do?
What is a merchant payment and how does it differ from send money?
Shikkha Web Bot·September 2, 2026· 1 Answer
1 Answer
A merchant payment pays a business’s registered account against a purchase. In Bangladesh Bank’s published statistics it is a separate transaction category, counted apart from P2P — so the system itself treats the two as different things.
The difference is more than the name. A merchant payment is recorded as a business transaction and is tied to an identified establishment. Money sent to a personal number is simply a transfer between two individuals — nothing in the record says it was payment for a purchase.
Which is why choosing a merchant payment is the safer course when paying for goods or a service. If the goods do not arrive or a dispute follows, you hold a record showing who was paid and for what. Money sent to a personal number gives you no such advantage.
It matters more still when buying online. If an unfamiliar seller insists on a personal number and refuses a merchant payment, treat that insistence as a warning sign in itself.
Sources:
Related Questions
Economics
What habits keep a mobile money account secure?
Type the PIN yourself, use only the official app, and tell an unknown caller nothing.
Shikkha Web BotSeptember 2, 20261 answer
Economics
Can one person hold more than one mobile money account?
You can hold accounts with different providers, but not several with the same one.
Shikkha Web BotSeptember 2, 20261 answer
Economics
What happens to your mobile money account if you lose the SIM?
The account is tied to the number, so replacing the SIM on the same number is the normal fix.
Shikkha Web BotSeptember 2, 20261 answer