Bangladesh鈥檚 migrant workers sent home Tk 1,102.22 crore in remittances through mobile financial service providers in October 2024, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
This figure represents a remarkable 95.22 per cent year-on-year increase from the Tk 564.61 crore that was sent home through MFS providers in October 2023.
The increase reflects the growing popularity of MFS, which includes platforms like Nagad and services such as bKash, Rocket and Upay offered by scheduled banks.
In September 2024, Tk 1,021.99 crore in remittances were disbursed via MFS platforms. The remittances also marked a 7.85 per cent increase in October compared to September.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent Tk 1,101.81 crore in remittances in August, compared with those of Tk 714.48 crore in July.
In October 2024, the number of registered MFS customers reached 2,342.50 lakh, with 1,379.80 lakh male customers and 962.70 lakh female customers.
The number of transactions was 64.37 crore in October compared to 59.16 crore in September, representing an 8.80 per cent increase in transaction volume for October this year.
MFS witnessed such an increase in October, with the total transaction volume reaching over Tk 1,54,857.32 crore in October, compared to over Tk 1,45,067.63 crore in September this year, the data show.
Talking to BSS, Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communications and public relations at bKash Limited, said that due to convenience in digital transactions, the MFS industry had been experiencing a substantial growth in cashless spending by the customers for the last couple of years.
Among the services provided by the MFS operators, inward remittance is gaining popularity day by day, he added.
He said that customer confidence in formal channels had significantly increased in recent times, contributing substantially to the rise in inward remittance.
He noted that customers were also receiving higher dollar exchange rates when sending remittances to the country.
鈥楾hrough bKash, expatriate Bangladeshis from more than 110 countries can send money to their near and dear ones within a short time. They can help their families even in emergency case,鈥� he added.
Additionally, cash-out charges have become more affordable, and customers are benefiting from instant fund transfer facilities, he said.
The Bangladesh Bank has introduced efficient off-branch MFS during 2011 as the country acquired an omnipresent mobile phone network, large number of mobile phone users and improved IT infrastructure. Within ten years, this exponentially growing Bank-Led model of MFS has become the largest MFS market in the world.
The Bangladesh Bank permits cash in, cash out, person to person, person to business, business to person, person to government and government to person payment services through MFS domestically.
No cross border money transfer is allowed under this service. However, local disbursement of inward foreign remittance comes through banking channel is permitted.
Any adult can open MFS account with any provider at an agent point or bank branch with a photo and legal identification. In this case, having more than one MFS account by one person with the same provider is not permitted.
