It is good to see that digital banking transactions have almost doubled during this pandemic. This is a sign that people are evolving with the needs of the times. Indeed, Bangladesh has been late to the whole digitalization process, with many resisting digital transactions.
Even now, many are suspicious of transactions of any kind other than cash. At long last, partly necessitated by Covid-19, this attitude is starting to change. Digital transactions are a major step towards achieving the dream of Digital Bangladesh, and the current banking data shows we are headed the right way.
What was originally envisioned as the vision for digital banking for the next four or five years has been achieved within a year. This is a rare example of us hitting our goals ahead of schedule.
The benefits of going digital are enormous: Customers can not only access accounts and make transactions without ever leaving home, banks can also greatly cut down their operational costs. All this does not even bring into account the social and health benefits achieved by reducing people-to-people contact, or the monetary value of the time saved by not having to stand in line or fill out various forms on paper.
In developed nations, digital transactions have been the norm for quite some time now, with transferring money being as easy as the click of a mouse. In Bangladesh, we have taken our time to catch up, but now that we are here, it looks as though we will soon be in a new era, moving slowly but surely towards a largely cashless society.
