While about 57%i of the country’s population are still excluded from the formal financial system, there has been notable growth in availing financial services in Bangladesh digitally through mobile financial services (MFS) providers like bKash.
The development was observed at a report titled “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2025” published recently by London based Groupe Spécial Mobile Association (GSMA).
According to the GSMA report, in 2024, mobile money providers worldwide processed an impressive $4.6 billion in daily transactions, facilitated through 2.1 billion mobile money accounts.
Meanwhile, according to the Bangladesh Bank, average daily transactions through MFS accounts was Tk4,833 crore (approx. $396.17 million) during 2024.
This figure indicates that Bangladesh alone processed about 8.61% of daily global mobile money transactions.
However, Bangladeshi people hold about 238.68 million or 11.36% of global mobile money account as of December 2024.
Remarkable growth of MFS in Bangladesh
Bangladesh stands out prominently in the GSMA report due to substantial growth in MFS activities.
Notably, the proportion of customers using mobile money for loans in the country doubled from 7% in 2023 to 14% in 2024.
It is noteworthy that bKash, the country's largest MFS provider, has introduced digital loan in collaboration with a leading commercial bank in the country back in 2021.
Since its commercial launch, around 1 million bKash customers have secured digital loans over 5.5 million times, totaling around Tk2,800 crore, according to bKash.
Similarly, the GSMA report showed that Bangladeshi customers using mobile money to transfer funds into savings accounts, increasing from 7% to 14% in 2024.
Till December 2024, Bangladeshi people opened over 3.2 million DPS with commercial banks and NBFIs through the bKash app. bKash launched its savings product back in 2021, in gradual collaboration with four commercial banks and an NBFI.
Additionally, 10% of Bangladeshi customers paid for insurance products via mobile money platforms in 2024, significantly up from 4% the previous year. bKash introduced insurance service in its platform in 2021 enabling even the remotest customers to be insured by insurance companies that don’t have presence this far.
bKash: Bangladesh’s global mobile money leader
To better illustrate Bangladesh’s exceptional position globally in terms of using mobile money, the leading MFS provider bKash’s data provides essential context. bKash’s figures underscore its critical role in staging the country in the international mobile money landscape.
Although Bangladesh represents just 2.19% of the world’s population, bKash significantly amplifies the country’s global influence as it accounts for 3.8% of global mobile money users and manages 3.5% of worldwide MFS agents.
Despite diverse challenges, Bangladesh continues to maintain a resilient and influential presence within the global mobile money ecosystem.
This underscores the country’s capability for innovation and highlights its success in advancing financial inclusion on an international scale.
