Prime Bank entering mobile financial services business
Prime Bank – a second-generation private sector bank in the country – is going to enter the mobile financial services (MFS) market to tap its vast potential.
To this end, it has decided to form a subsidiary with an initial minimum paid-up capital of Tk45 crore, according to the bank.
The move aims to provide mobile financial services under a bank-led MFS model.
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Prime Bank's subsidiaries
The new ones in pipeline
- One for providing mobile financial services with Tk45cr paid-up capital
- Another for asset management with Tk10cr paid-up
At present, it has 5 subsidiaries
- 2 in Bangladesh
- 3 abroad
In a meeting on 14 August, the bank's board also decided to set up a subsidiary with an initial minimum paid-up capital of Tk10 crore to provide asset management services and alternative investment fund.
This subsidiary will operate mutual funds and other upcoming products in the stock market.
Hassan O Rashid, managing director at Prime Bank, told The Business Standard, "We planned the business to provide mobile financial services as the industry is growing rapidly."
"The industry has now evolved into a larger infrastructure, and it is growing day by day. We want to create a convenient payment system for customers through MFS so that they can easily transfer money," he added.
Currently, 13 banks offer MFS in the country under various names such as bKash, Rocket, UKash, MyCash, and SureCash. Now Prime Bank wants to join the industry as a new player.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, the number of MFS subscribers stood at 20.72 crore at the end of June.
Subscribers have grown by 33 lakh in just one month. These customers made more than 57 crore transactions in the month of June, which is also an all-time high.
Regarding Prime Bank's other initiative, Hassan O Rashid said, "Many investors are unwilling to go to the stock market in fear of losing funds in the secondary market. So, we have planned to serve investors through operating mutual funds, which is very safe."
"If reputable institutions enter the mutual fund industry, trust in the industry will increase, and the sector will grow even more," he expects.
Injecting Tk12.5cr into the digital bank
Prime Bank is joining a consortium of 10 commercial banks to form a digital bank, Digi10 Bank PLC.
In the consortium, Prime Bank is investing TK12.5 crore to become a sponsor shareholder.
The private sector lender, which got listed on the stock market in 2000, runs 146 branches across the country.
The bank owns five subsidiaries, of which Prime Bank Investment, and Prime Bank Securities are operating in Bangladesh.
Three others – Prime Exchange Co Pte, PBL Finance (Hong Kong) and PBL Exchange (UK) – are operating abroad.
