The Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for change in many areas of business, one of the most significant being the drastic reduction in cash purchases in favour of digital options.
While the pandemic has wrought incalculable harm and suffering upon the world, it has, on the other hand, forced us to become more innovative and more sustainable.
Bangladesh, for some years now, has been gradually making the move towards mobile financial services. But the truth is, in spite of our best efforts, we are still for the most part a cash-loving society.
Many vendors view any other form of payment with scepticism. Now, however, we are being forced to adapt. While there may be some growing pains, in the long run, it will make us more future-ready.
July of this year saw a record-high for cashless transactions in a single month: Tk1,134 crore -- an increase of nearly 40% from last year. No doubt, the need for contactless payments drove this change. Not only is going cashless safer and more sanitary, simply put, it is more efficient.
Thankfully, mobile financial services in Bangladesh have generally been attuned to customer needs, and have upgraded and improved continuously in order to provide the right kind of services. When it comes to the fondness for cash though, for many, old habits die hard, but if we do not embrace the future, we will get left out.
When it comes to fulfilling the vision of Digital Bangladesh, we have fumbled in many regards, but it seems that when it comes to steadily increasing the digitalization of payment methods, we are on the right track.
