Islamic Bank Dominates Agent Banking in Bangladesh!

Deposits in Bangladesh’s agent banking services have seen significant growth in recent months. As of September this year, deposits under the service reached a total of BDT 47,196 crore, marking an increase of more than 20% compared to the same period last year. In urban areas, deposits increased by more than 13%, while in rural areas, they rose by 22.3%.

The Bangladesh Bank has recently released a report detailing various aspects of agent banking services. The report reveals that as of March this year, the total deposit in agent banking was BDT 42,632 crore, which has now surpassed BDT 47,000 crore by the end of September. Experts attribute this growth to the outreach of agent banking services to marginalised communities, particularly in rural areas.

According to the report, Islamic Bank has accumulated the highest deposits in agent banking by the end of September, with a total of BDT 17,360 crore. Dutch-Bangla Bank follows in second place, with deposits amounting to BDT 6,594 crore. Bank Asia, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, and BRAC Bank follow with BDT 6,263 crore, BDT 3,785 crore, and BDT 2,505 crore, respectively.

In addition, the number of deposit accounts in agent banking has increased by 6.9% compared to last year. The bank with the most agent banking accounts is Dutch-Bangla Bank, which holds a total of 7,613,621 accounts. Bank Asia ranks second with 7,435,727 accounts.

Currently, 30 banks in the country are participating in agent banking services. However, the number of agents and outlets has decreased. There has been a 4.4% reduction in the number of agents compared to September of last year. This reduction is primarily due to the discontinuation of agent banking services by Agrani Bank. As of September, the total number of agent banking outlets in the country was 20,488, which is a 4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Arfan Ali, the former Managing Director of Bank Asia, stated: “The main objective of agent banking was to bring banking services to the rural population, especially women. The report shows that 87% of the agent banking accounts are from rural areas, and 50% of the account holders are women. Additionally, through this service, loans are provided to the agricultural sector and small and medium-sized enterprises, which has resulted in success for some banks. This is a positive development.”