One of the key signifiers of any nation’s upward development is the state of its financial transactions. The more cashless a society, the more progressive and higher its people’s purchasing power.
To that end, it is good to see that transactions using mobile financial services (MFS) have increased dramatically in Bangladesh recently. In fact, transactions in general have increased quite significantly, increasing to Tk1.26 crore in December from Tk1.18cr in November -- a sizable increase.
There is no denying that, as a nation, we should strive to ultimately become a completely cashless society; in fact with Covid-19 remaining as much a threat as ever, a society that relies less and less on cash and fewer face-to-face transactions is simply a safer society.
Not to mention that the idea lines up well with our goal to become a truly Digital Bangladesh within the coming decades.
This news comes just in time when Bangladesh has achieved a significant increase in its average income per person. There are also indications that people are increasingly using MFSs to not only purchase goods but to also pay bills -- a great indication of just how far we’ve come from the heady days of standing in long lines just to be able to pay our utility bills.
Even in the face of a global pandemic, Bangladesh’s ascent, both economic and infrastructural, is simply unmatched. Few nations can claim to not only have survived the Covid-19 pandemic but to also have thrived during it, in this case by increasing the rate at which we are becoming a truly cashless society.
However, the government needs to give adequate support in this endeavour. For example, the digital penetration outside of our cities and metropolises is still fairly low.
The dream of a Digital Bangladesh cannot just be limited to our urban areas.
