Joshua D'Costa
Growth & Marketing
Jun 17, 2025
|
5
min
Bangladesh’s digital economy is growing, valued at $3.5 billion, driven by a young and skilled tech workforce of 750,000 IT professionals and 650,000 online freelancers who actively contribute to the global digital marketplace. The country’s startup ecosystem is gaining momentum, with many SaaS founders now aspiring to serve international customers, a vision echoed in recent summits that spotlight SaaS as a key growth sector.
However, expanding beyond Bangladesh brings complex challenges. A solution like the Merchant of Record (MoR) can let Bangladeshi SaaS firms scale globally without drowning in regulatory paperwork or payment headaches.
Source: Wikipedia
Why Bangladesh Needs a Merchant of Record
As SaaS founders look beyond domestic borders, they quickly run into a tangle of VAT obligations and compliance mandates, 15% VAT on IT-enabled services at home and the need to collect and remit each jurisdiction’s digital-service taxes abroad (including EU VAT).
Layer on GDPR-style data rules and local invoicing requirements, and even well-funded startups can find themselves bogged down in paperwork rather than product development.
Local payment gateways like bKash, Nagad, Rocket, SSLCOMMERZ, ShurjoPay, and AamarPay make domestic BDT transactions seamless, but none accept foreign cards or wallets.
At the same time, major global processors like Stripe and PayPal still don’t support Bangladeshi merchants, so teams often resort to costly workarounds, hiring overseas agents or using intermediaries to process international payments. With limited in-house tax, legal, and engineering resources, setting up foreign entities, bank accounts, and registrations quickly becomes prohibitively complex, hindering SaaS startups from selling abroad efficiently.
All these obstacles underscore why Bangladeshi SaaS companies need a Merchant of Record to offload compliance, streamline global payments, and focus squarely on scaling.
How an MoR Helps
A Merchant of Record can streamline international expansion by addressing these pain points:
Takes care of taxes for you
Automatically figures out and charges the right VAT/GST or sales tax
Sends payments straight to each country’s tax authority
No more wrestling with unfamiliar tax rules in every market
Makes Global payments simple
Let's you offer credit cards, mobile wallets, and local methods everywhere
Smart routing means fewer declined transactions and happier customers
Built-in fraud checks and handling of any disputes or chargebacks
Faster scaling without foreign entities
Acts as the legal seller, so you don’t need local bank accounts or subsidiaries
Provides a local-style checkout for buyers without the setup headaches
Launch in new countries in days instead of months
A good MoR will free you from juggling tax registrations, cross-border payment integrations, and compliance protocols. Cuts out manual work so your engineers and finance folks can build products and win customers
Choosing the Right MoR Partner
When selecting a Merchant of Record provider, founders should evaluate:
Check that the MoR supports all your target markets, handling multiple currencies and local payment methods so customers in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere can pay with their preferred cards or mobile wallets.
Look for localised checkout options that support regional payment preferences, this goes a long way toward boosting conversions.
Make sure the provider has deep compliance expertise in SaaS and digital goods, staying on top of changing VAT/GST rates, withholding taxes, and privacy laws to help you avoid fines.
Compare pricing models carefully: some MoRs charge a revenue percentage, others flat fees, so watch out for add-ons (currency conversion, refunds, fraud protection) that can inflate costs.
Confirm the technical integration is smooth, with well-documented APIs that slot into your existing billing or checkout system without a major redevelopment.
Ensure the partner can scale as you grow BY adding new markets, payment methods, and currencies, and provides reliable support (ideally 24/7) to solve any issues quickly.
Research their track record: review case studies or ask for references to see how they’ve helped similar companies expand internationally, minimizing your risk.
Dodo Payments as an MoR Partner
Consider Dodo Payments, a startup built for emerging-market SaaS and digital Creators, as your MoR partner.
Dodo already powers transactions in 150+ countries, supports 100+ currencies, and integrates local payment methods to mobile wallets without requiring foreign entities.
It handles all tax and compliance tasks, offers built-in local channels, and delivers consolidated payouts in your home currency. With Dodo, global expansion becomes a single, streamlined partnership rather than a patchwork of vendors.
Conclusion
An MoR is built to handle the complexities of VAT filings, multi-currency payments, and regulatory rules that would otherwise demand costly legal and technical resources.
By choosing a reputable provider like Dodo Payments, you can confidently accelerate your international expansion.
