EasyJet eyes 'massive opportunities' in Europe

Afp, Luton, United Kingdom

Europe's airline sector is on course for further consolidation, while the region offers "massive opportunities" for growth, according to Carolyn McCall, chief executive of British budget airline EasyJet.
"I definitely think there will be consolidation in Europe," McCall told AFP in a recent interview held in EasyJet's headquarters at Luton airport, north of London.
And she believes the company can build on its exceptionally strong growth during her almost six years in charge.
"If you actually look at the whole of Europe, we still see massive opportunities for growth.

ATM frauds rattle banks, customers

Sajjadur Rahman

ATM card frauds have forced banks to take precautionary measures, including temporarily shutting down transactions through the national payment switch (NPS), to safeguard the interests of clients.
The move comes after Eastern Bank on Friday detected 21 suspicious card transactions.
A fraudster with a fake EBL card used one of the ATM booths of United Commercial Bank Ltd, which sounded off the alarm in UCBL's system.
“We straightaway informed the central bank and the EBL about the fraud,” said Javed Iqbal, head of communications of UCBL, adding that a case was also filed with the Banani Police Station on Friday.
EBL shut down operations of all of its ATM booths for six hours on Friday, said Ziaul Karim, the bank's head of brand and communications.
Subhankar Saha, an executive director and spokesman for the central bank, said even though it was a bank holiday on Friday all banks were asked to tighten their security measures at their ATM booths as early as possible.
“We have asked banks to check their ATM booths to see whether there is any skimming device to steal the customers' information or not.”
ATM theft is increasingly becoming a common crime, with fraudsters entering the booths of different banks with fake ID cards and introducing themselves as IT experts of the banks.
They then install a camera above the ATM machine to record the image of a cardholder typing the password, or fix a small device to the ATM card reader to copy the cardholder's information.
Using devices that can write and read cards, the information is then transferred to a new card with a blank magnetic stripe, according to bankers. Many banks claim that the use of NPS left their systems vulnerable to card frauds.
The NPS is the common platform through which electronic payments originating from different channels like the ATMs, points of sales, internet and mobile devices, take place.
Of the 56 banks operating in the country, 48 are connected with the NPS, according to Bangladesh Bank.
At present, there are 98 lakh cards that are used in ATM and point-of-sales centres in the country.
“Soon after detecting the fraud on Friday, we have switched off our NPS line,” said Karim, adding that EBL had written to the central bank mentioning the risks of the NPS.
“Our own ATM system is on. But we have stopped transactions through the NPS,” said Abul Kashem Mohammad Shirin, deputy managing director of Dutch-Bangla Bank that has the largest network of ATM booths in Bangladesh.
The bank has around 3,000 ATM booths across the country. Some other banks have also taken similar measures to avert further ATM frauds.
But Prime Bank, which is one of the largest private banks, thinks there is nothing wrong with the NPS.
“This is no way an NPS issue. Fraudsters hacked customers' information and took away their money,” said Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury, managing director of Prime Bank. Saha refuted the allegations of weaknesses in the NPS. “We are continuously upgrading the NPS system and will keep on doing it.”
He said all ATM booths have CCTV cameras installed in them, through which the banks can monitor the transactions closely.
If the fraudulent activities were taking place due to the banks' negligence, they have to pay back the customers' money, Saha said.

Bangladeshi handicrafts get global recognition

Women make toys at a factory of Hathay Bunano, one of the four Bangladeshi entities recognised by the World Fair Trade Organisation. Photo: Hathay Bunano

Star Business Report

Four Bangladeshi handicraft producers and organisations have been certified as “guaranteed fair trade organisations” for meeting the growing demand for ethical and sustainable products.
Hathay Bunano, Thanapara Swallows Development Society, Prokritee, and Base Bangladesh got the recognition from the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO).
Set up in 2005, Hathay Bunano is well-known for making Pebble brand toys which are sold in 37 countries. It employs 8,000 disadvantaged women as artisans.
Thanapara Swallows exports its garments made of handloom fabrics to Japan, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. It employs 250 people, according to Md Raihan Ali, executive director of the non-governmental organisation.
Base Bangladesh, also known as Bangladesh Shilpo Ekota, is a network that works for the promotion, marketing and distribution of handicrafts made by 17 producers' groups in Khulna region.
These groups employ more than 10,000 men and women. Their products are exported to Italy, Spain, the UK, Sweden and Japan. Prokritee supports more than 1,500 artisans in rural areas to make  goods from renewable sources of materials such as recycled sari, waste jute, silk, handmade paper, natural fibres and leaves.
The WFTO certifies organisations operating in any part of the supply chain -- from producers to retailers.
An entity needs to respect the international fair trade standards to be recognised as a guaranteed fair trade organisation.

The WFTO label, the first of its kind, was unveiled in Frankfurt, Germany yesterday.
With the fair trade label, consumers will be able to identify products in the international marketplace that meet high economic, social
and environmental sustainability criteria.
“There are no international public regulations for the certification of fair trade products. Private entities can deliberately set up their own criteria and certify a single product without considering the practices of the company that sells these products,” said Rudi Dalvai, president of the WFTO.
“That is why, it is of utmost importance to have a label that allows consumers to clearly identify the organisations who are 100 percent committed to fair trade,” he said in a statement.
“It's a big achievement for handicraft producers in Bangladesh,” said Samantha Morshed, founder of Hathay Bunano.
She said, for some years now there has been a labelling system for commodities such as coffee and chocolate. “It's great that the World Fair Trade Organisation is now introducing a label for handicrafts as well.”
The German organisation said, by buying products carrying the new label, traders and consumers can make a concrete contribution to creating a world that will fight poverty, social injustice and discrimination, and support economically disadvantaged small producers.
The principles of fair trade include creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers, transparency and accountability, no child labour, women's economic empowerment, and freedom of association.
At present, there are about 50 fair trade organisations around the world, according to the WFTO website.