Loan disbursements through agent banking surged 48.60 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), reaching Taka 21,089.81 crore at the end of September, 2024, on the back of improved access to finance for rural people, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
In September last year, loan disbursements stood at Taka 14,192.65 crore.
As on 30 September 2024, 31 banks offered agent banking services through 21,367 outlets operated by 16,011 agents. The number of accounts opened through agent banking reached 23,489,109 of which 11,704,846 accounts (49.83 percent) belong to female customers and 20,173,995 accounts (85.89 percent) belong to the customers of the rural areas.
At the end of September 2024, the amount of deposit accumulated in the agent banking accounts is Taka 39,529.37 crore and the cumulative amount of inward remittances disbursed through agents reached Taka 1,65,659.23 crore.
Bankers observed that with the gradual expansion of agent banking, many people who were previously excluded from banking services at the rural level can now easily avail the services themselves, which is the key reason behind the increased flow of such loans.
Talking to BSS, a senior official of the central bank said agent banking is playing a pivotal role in providing adequate financial services, especially for rural women, small business entrepreneurs and beneficiary of remitters.
Considering the fact of loan deposit ratio and the portion of lending to women or entrepreneurs, he said, Bangladesh Bank is constantly encouraging banks to facilitate CMSME, women entrepreneurship loan and some refinance schemes for marginal people through agent banking.
Overall, agent banking is having a significant positive impact on financial inclusion and, therefore, has the potential to fill up the market gap created by the insufficient outreach of branch banking, he added.
Abdul Quaium Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director of Premier Bank PLC, said that the rising trend of agent banking, especially in the rural areas, indicates that there is a remarkable potential to bring the rural unbanked people under the umbrella of formal banking services.
Bangladesh Bank introduced agent banking in Bangladesh in 2013 with a view to providing a safe alternate delivery channel of banking services.
The targeted customers of this service were the under-served population who generally live in geographically remote locations that are hard to reach by the formal banking networks.
Customers can avail various banking services including deposits, loans, overseas and local remittances, payment services (such as utility bills, taxes), and receiving government social safety-net benefits through agent banking outlets. BSS
