Female participation in financial activities through agent banking is on the rise in Bangladesh, with women holding 1.52% more deposit accounts than men as of July 2023. While in Dhaka, men still dominate with 52% of deposit accounts, women in Barishal, Chattogram, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet have a higher number of deposit accounts than men in those regions. This trend highlights the impact of agent banking in providing financial services to rural and underserved populations where traditional banking facilities are lacking.
BB’s data indicates that agent banking has been instrumental in bridging the financial inclusion gap, with a total of 15,574 agents and 21,399 outlets as of July. The majority of these agents and outlets are in rural areas, addressing the needs of previously unbanked populations. Bank Asia, one of the leading banks in agent banking, has contributed significantly to this expansion, with 65% of its 60 lakh agent bank account holders being women. This growth is attributed to the distribution of government allowances through agent banking accounts. Private commercial banks dominate the agent banking landscape, while state-owned banks lag behind in terms of agents and outlets.
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