Photo: Collected
The popularity of agent banking initially intended to bring banking activities to grassroots levels nationwide, is on the rise. By the end of this year's September quarter, the number of accounts facilitated by agents surged to 2,06,84,537. Notably, 49.74% of these accounts, totaling 1,02,87,881, belong to women.
This information is derived from the latest report published by Bangladesh Bank. The data reveals that 86.15 percent of agent banking accounts are located in rural areas, amounting to 1,78,18,966 accounts at the grassroots level of the country.
Meanwhile, as of the end of September, the deposit amount in agent banking stood at Tk 35,200.76 crore. In the same period, loan disbursements totaled Tk 14,192.65 crore, and remittances amounted to Tk 1,36,473.26 crore.
As per the data, rural deposits in agent banking experienced a 7.93 percent increase in September compared to the previous quarter, surpassing the 3.97 percent growth observed in urban deposits. Moreover, deposits from male customers witnessed a 6.59 percent rise, outpacing the 1.29 percent increase in deposits from female customers. In essence, men are contributing more to the overall deposit growth than women.
Male account openings through agent banking saw a 4.19 percent increase in the September quarter. Concurrently, account openings by women experienced a slightly higher growth rate of 4.37 percent during the same period. Additionally, the amount of deposits in agent banking accounts rose by 5.20 percent, and there was an 8.82 percent increase in loan disbursement during this timeframe.
Expatriates can now effortlessly channel remittances through agent banking, ensuring swift delivery to the doorsteps of their families. Consequently, the remittance inflow through this banking channel has surged by 5.15 percent compared to the previous quarter. As of September, 90.63 percent of the total inward remittances have been collected by villagers through agents.
Furthermore, the agent volume recorded a 0.19 percent increase during the reporting period compared to the previous quarter, while outlets saw a growth of 0.75 percent. Consequently, as of the end of September, the number of agents reached 15,540, and the count of outlets expanded to 21,448.
Messenger/Sun Yath
