Transactions using mobile financial services (MFS) in Bangladesh rose to Tk87,635 crore in September from Tk87,446 crore in August.
According to data from the central bank, transaction volume rose by 0.22% in September or around Tk189 crores from August.
However, on a year-on-year basis, MFS transactions rose by 18% when compared to the same period last year.
According to latest data, person-to-person transactions increased by Tk400 crore to Tk25,153 crore, while merchant payments by Tk89 crore to Tk3,124 crore during September, when compared to August.
Salary disbursements through MFS also increased by Tk103.6 crore to Tk2,752.5 crore and talk time purchase increased by Tk15.4 crore to Tk838.5 crore during the period.
However, cash-in volume declined by around Tk157 crore to Tk26,678 crore, while cash-out volume declined by Tk201 crore to Tk23,783 crore in September compared to August this year.
During the same period, payment of utility bills also declined by Tk84 crore to Tk2,178 crore in September in contrast to August.
According to bKash Head of Corporate Communications Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, digital payments are being used increasingly for many services such as paying salaries and utility bills. That is why the volume of cash-in and cash-out declined in September.
On top of that, the MFS provider has been easing up replenishing digital wallets with the “Add Money” option that allows transfer of money from banks to the platform, thus requiring the need for cashing in through agents or cashing out less.
According to central bank data, the number of MFS accounts increased by more than 2 million to 185.2 million in September.
The number of MFS agents reached 15 lakh around the country at the end of September, according to the data.
According to Tellimer, Bangladesh is one of the biggest markets for mobile money globally, with over 110 million users transacting $100 billion over the past year with more than 110 million individuals in Bangladesh are currently using such services-of which, 45 million of them are active users making it one of the most potent markets.
The latest industry data, when compared to 2015, showed that the number of registered mobile money agents had doubled over the period to 1.2 million, while the value of transactions increased six-fold, Tellimer reported.
Global researchers believe that the data signals a structural shift in the industry away from bilateral peer-to-peer transactions and toward a broader range of use cases, with banking penetration being low.