Bangladesh Payment Network Restored After Two-Day Sabotage Crisis

• Card and ATM services across Bangladesh resumed late Tuesday following a two-day outage that blocked cash access and retail payments for millions.
• The disruption originated from an alleged sabotage by a Russian software provider, Compass Plus, amid a bitter migration dispute.
• Roughly 30 commercial banks were affected, with ITCL, the operator of the Q-Cash network, facing intense backlash from both regulators and financial institutions.

The Dispute and Sabotage

• ITCL had been phasing out Compass Plus software in favor of an OpenWay platform.
• ITCL alleged that the Russian vendor retaliated by planting a malicious script that repeatedly crashed servers and wiped routing tables.
• Disputes had escalated in August over migration fees and technical support, with the vendor allegedly demanding a $1.5 million fee.

Regulatory and Industry Fallout

• Bangladesh Bank criticized ITCL for the unannounced shutdown, stating that “emergency” status does not exempt providers from mandatory public notification requirements.
• The central bank will issue show-cause notices to the affected member banks.
• Commercial lenders expressed frustration over severe reputational damage, noting they received zero warning before the system went offline.
• The incident highlights the vulnerability of national financial infrastructure when reliant on foreign technology supply chains.