MFS transactions hit record Tk93,033cr in April

The amount of money transacted through mobile financial services (MFS) posted massive growth in April, reaching a record high of Tk 93,033 crore thanks to Eid-ul-Fitr-centric shopping.

It was also boosted by the Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) decision to increase the MFS transaction limit amid rapid adoption of the services by general people.

According to BB data, the transaction in April was 20.35 per cent or Tk 15,731 crore higher than March’s Tk 77,302 crore. The amount is also 55.98 per cent or Tk 33,390 crore higher than Tk 59,642 crore from April 2021.

Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims, was celebrated in the country on May 3 and most of the festival-centric financial and economic activities took place in April, said officials of various MFS operators.

After being under the coronavirus-centric lockdowns and restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the country’s Muslims celebrated Eid in 2022 without constraints, taking the festival-centric transactions to the highest ever, they said.

Many MFS operators had offered discounts against shopping payments by using their service, which also played a role in the sharp transaction increase in April.

In April, the amount of cash-in was Tk 27,740 crore against cash-out of Tk 25,634 crore, as per the central bank data.

In the past year, the number of MFS accounts increased by 1.38 crore, to 11.61 crore from 10.24 crore.

At present, 13 MFS operators provide services, with bKash, Nagad, Rocket, Upay, mCash and SureCash being the major market players.

However, since Bangladesh Post Office’s Nagad is yet to receive a licence from the BB, the central bank’s report on MFS transactions does not include the operator’s transaction data.