In a massive step, the government is going to expand digitalisation of financial transaction across the country and take it beyond the banking system.
With the initiative implemented, the people who are now excluded in the current system can also enjoy making electronic payment or transaction while buying a service or a product.
New areas of transaction including agricultural sector and different services will be brought under the facility.
Prime Minister’s Office issued a circular yesterday as the government has formed a 16-member task-force to prepare a model on “effective financial inclusion.”
The model will be intended to bring more sectors and common peole within digitalised transaction network, said official sources. A national strategy on digital financial inclusion will be worked out from advices to be given by the newly formed task-force.
The intiative is expected to provide people living in remote areas with more facilities through Digital Centres located across the country.
“Now digital financial service is limited to only banking system. But the new plan will take it beyond the banks and include different services like transport and sectors like agriculture,” SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, told Dhaka Tribune.
He added: “As 75% of the country’s people use mobile phone, digital financial inclusion of more people in remote places can be a success.”
The task-force will advise the authorities concerned on licensing and permission to conduct the business. The task-force is led by director general (administration) of PMO and includes representatives from Cabinet Division, Finance Division, Bank and Financial Institutions Division, Bangladesh Bank, Local Government Division, Social Welfare Directorate, Postal Division, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority, Micro-credit Regulatory Authority, SME Foundation, Sonali Bank, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, One House-One Farm project, and Access to Information programme.
Official sources said the inter-ministrial task-force will hold four meetings in a fiscal year.
According to the terms of reference of the task-force, it will also coordinate among different ministries and divisions on the matter. Access to Information (a2i) Programme is an UNDP and USAID supported project (programme) having its office at the Prime Ministers’ Office.
The union digital centres offer mobile financial services and a good number of them offer life insurance services. Approximately 100,000 people take mobile financial services from the digital centres per year and has opened around 3,700 life insurance schemes.
More recently, a2i started piloting a transfer management system in one district to digitally manage payment of 6 different public transfers (social safety net) to the beneficiaries.
In addition, in partnership with Bangladesh Bank, a2i has facilitated an innovative rural decentralised banking system. Already 150+ rural branches of three private banks started operation under the scheme—the number is expected to grow to 500+ during this financial year.
Already, during the last few months of operation, these branches have mobilised a total of $4.5m in savings from approximately 50,000 people. In addition, baseline research is launched to identify design principles of appropriate financial products for rural populace.