MFS transactions up 25% in August

Mobile financial services (MFS) transactions grew by more than 25% year-on-year last August as people increasingly embrace digital payments.

According to central bank data, MFS transactions through 13 MFS operators in Bangladesh, including bKash, Nagad, and Rocket, totalled Tk1.10 lakh crore in August, from Tk87,635 crore in the same month last year.

Daily transactions averaged Tk3,534 crore in August this year.

Zahidul Islam Sajal, head of communications of Nagad Limited, however, told The Business Standard that the industry still has a lot of room to grow.

Stating that Nagad's customer base has crossed 8.50 crore in just 4.5 years, he said, "Nagad has added more than 40,000 new customers on average every day since its inception, and now has an average monthly transaction volume of Tk30,000 crore. However, this amount is still relatively small compared to the overall financial sector. Our dream is to reach a point where people do transactions without paper money."

According to central bank data, the total number of MFS subscribers reached 21.24 crore at the end of August, up by 28 lakh from the previous month.

MFS accounts can be used to cash out, make person-to-person transfers, recharge mobile balances, pay utility bills and education fees, and make merchant payments.

Industry stakeholders said the total number of MFS accounts has crossed the 21-crore mark because one customer has multiple accounts and the number of active accounts is much lower.

Central bank data shows that the number of active MFS accounts with regular transactions increased by more than one crore to 8.19 crore at the end of August compared to 7.12 crore in July.

The Bangladesh Bank has recently lowered the age limit for applicants to open an MFS account to 14 years from 18. 

A senior official of the central bank told TBS that due to this decision, the number of MFS customers will increase significantly in the coming days. 

According to the 2022 census, the total population of the country is 16.52 crore. Around 10.03% of these are aged 15-19. Hence, about 1.5 crore new people are getting the opportunity to open an MFS account. This step has been taken to accustom the new generation to digital transactions.