Tag: Bangladesh Bank

The waves of digitization and technological advancements have led to the opening of MFS accounts for 60% of the population in Bangladesh. The country now boasts more than 1.1 million agents. Despite the widespread use of MFS and internet access, only 9.1% of people access the formal credit system. Digital credit can be a stepping-stone in Bangladesh due to the lower cost of delivering credit through digital means, combined with the mass digital readiness of consumers. Several solutions have emerged from banks, NBFIs, FinTechs, MFSPs, MFIs, and development partners, such as City Bank’s “Nano Loan” product pilot to Prime Bank’s loan product for blue-collar workers. Together, stakeholders are trying to forge partnerships to address problems around access to credit and social development in Bangladesh.

In this blog, we highlight why the poor wish to engage in unskilled labor and petty trade by studying the records of respondents from low-income households in a “financial diary” research project in central Bangladesh.

We explore the importance of digitization for MFIs and the impact of microfinance in empowering women in Bangladesh through our concept of “Financial Services Space”.

Fintech players in Bangladesh, primarily led by the MFS players, have a huge potential to address the key constraints that hold back financial inclusion and to facilitate the integration of underserved segments into the formal financial services sector.

The study is based on extensive secondary research and stakeholder interviews with fintechs and FSPs across six markets – Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam.

The Helix Institute of Digital Finance recently concluded the second wave of Agent Network Accelerator (ANA) study in Bangladesh which found signs of growth in the digital financial services landscape in Bangladesh on all the key performance metrics*. Thsi this blog to understand why we feel that Bangladeshi market is poised for the next level of digital financial services. S