The flying MFS Sector of Bangladesh
Growth can only be sustainable when the whole population is benefitted from that.
The value addition of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) in a pandemic-hit vibrant economy like Bangladesh has been remarkable. Till March 2020, the scope of MFS was only confined in cash-in, cash-out, bill and other payments, remittance and some other ancillary services. However, the great pandemic broadened the horizon of MFS service, starting from disbursing wage to 4,000 RMG workers to disbursing government cash support to 50 Lac families. MFS is discerned to be the game-changer in payment landscape, with players like Nagad, bKash, Rocket and Surecash.
Banks are seeing immense possibilities of mobile money for financial inclusion. In a time when cash transactions pose near life-threatening risk due to containment of deadly virus, mobile money is acting like a life-savior. Not all banks have a strong infrastructure to facilitate MFS. Aside from balance transfer, banks now must work on managing payment mechanism on mass scale, for loan or deposit products. It is high time, banks should collaborate with MFS providers and reap the most benefit out of their payment infrastructure. Rocket by Dutch Bangla Bank Limited, uCash by United Commercial Bank Limited and many more have jumped on the MFS bandwagon sensing the breakneck growth opportunity. In the “new-normal” era, digital payments will take the lead and reaching mass population is only possible with the help of MFS.
Sushmita Saha
Assistant Manager
IDLC Finance Limited