bKash has been consistently investing in developing a digital payments ecosystem in the country as well as significantly improving digital financial literacy so that customers can make well-informed decisions in their daily lives, said bKash Chief Commercial Officer Ali Ahmmed during an interview with The Business Post recently.
What are the reasons behind MFS's popularity or expansion in Bangladesh?
In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile financial services (MFS), bKash stands as a trailblazer, shaping the Smart Bangladesh narrative. bKash from the beginning, has been contributing to the transformative journey that has been the fundamentals of digital finance in the country. Since its inception, financial inclusion has remained in the core vision of bKash as it connected millions of unbanked, and even the underbanked population with the formal economy.
Apart from fundamental services like Cash In, Cash Out, Send Money, Mobile Recharge, bKash gradually introduced innovative services like Utility Bill Payment (Pay Bill), Connecting Bank Account with Wallet (Add Money), Digital Pay Roll Solution, Cross Border Remittances, Digital Loan, Digital Savings, etc., which as result have emerged as catalysts of the digital financial ecosystem, resulting in millions of common Bangladeshis getting habituated in transaction through digital platforms.
What kind of challenges do you see in this sector, and what is the way forward?
Over the past 12 years, bKash has been guided by the government’s digital vision and the practical policy outlook of the regulator, Bangladesh Bank. bKash has given stringent attention to maintaining a high standard of compliance across operations creating confidence not only among the regulators, and business communities but also for its large customer base of over 75 million.
bKash has been consistently investing in developing a digital payments ecosystem in the country as well as significantly improving digital financial literacy so that customers can make well-informed decisions in their daily lives. bKash is also working with law enforcement authorities to generate mass awareness about the risk management of digital transactions.
MFS sector has been playing a big role in empowering women, what is the role of bKash regarding this?
The latest Bangladesh Bank data showed 41.67 per cent of registered MFS users are women whereby about 57.07 per cent of these women MFS account holders live in rural areas. These numbers indicate that rural women are way ahead of owning MFS accounts compared to urban women.
Such financial inclusion of women through MFSs has had multifarious impacts on women empowerment i.e. ensuring control over their money, and assets; effective participation in family decision-making, exploring the scope of making small investments, etc. as revealed by a study titled “Impact of MFSs in Bangladesh - The Case of bKash” conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
It showed that the women who use MFS accounts enjoy freedom of movement, participate more in income-generating activities, earn more from the job market, etc. The study also showed that the women using bKash are 20 per cent ahead of the women not using MFS in terms of owning financial assets. Besides, the scope of receiving remittances from dearest ones directly in the bKash account, receiving salary in the bKash account, etc. also greatly contributed to women's empowerment.
The demand for diversified digital financial solutions through MFS has been increasing, what is bKash doing in this field?
The MFS industry in the country is evolving very fast, encouraging more and more customers to adopt digital services to meet their economic and transactional needs.
In order to offer the maximum possible customer-friendly products and services, bKash’s sustainable business model required substantial investments for the expansion of technological capabilities, infrastructure, digital literacy and awareness, building a digital payment ecosystem, etc. bKash has introduced financial solutions for its customers which are convenient, easy and secure.
Apart from its own financial products, bKash has also introduced innovative products in collaboration with commercial banks and financial institutions. One such instance is “Digital Savings” through bKash App with four banks and a financial institution. It has become one of the most popular services on bKash’s platform and it is to be noted that 30 per cent of all savings account holders are women.
Besides, to facilitate digital payments all across the country, bKash has established a countrywide network of 3,30,000 plus agents and 6,00,000 plus merchants.
