An acquaintance of mine wanted to choose the best banking service to open a deposit scheme. I accompanied her in her search for the most befitting one.
As we were both amateurs in dealing with our limited finances, we did not know how to approach and who to approach, and in which corporation. This led to some callow handlings with the relevant stake-holders.
However, we proceeded with caution and wanted to come to a conclusion after having undergone an authentic and thorough search.
Our first destination was BRAC Bank; the institution being led by the respected Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, it seemed like the most reliable place to go. Interacting with an official, we understood that opening a savings account was an extremely difficult task for young people in Bangladesh -- trickier and riskier still for women; unlike all other tasks.
Then we headed to Prime Bank, Premier Bank, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Janata Bank, and Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited, respectively. We also interacted with an official from NCC Bank.
A lot of brochures and flyers were offered. As clients and rational thinkers, we had to ensure that we selected the most reliable scheme and service available, given our constraints and long-term investment goals from the overall package.
We gathered as much information as we could, and took the leaflet with us.
Now, the eligibility requirements for opening an account was something that was making us question our existence. They asked for our national IDs, passports, photographs, government bills to verify our residence, nomination forms from our respective nominees, and most importantly, introducers, or people who already have accounts in the bank where we want to open an account.
After knowing about the whole process of opening a deposit scheme, we became even more confused and distraught. So, we left the place and kept wondering what can be done to solve the problem.
Firstly, neither of us had our national IDs. However, most importantly, we did not have an introducer/referee who could vouch for us.
Wherever we went, they kept on asking for an introducer to verify our credentials. Not to demean us in any way -- the system/mechanism forced them to do so.
Only one kind official offered to connect us with an introducer. In this ruthless world, this deed of compassion meant a huge deal. We literally did not know what to do next. My acquaintance, being in a situational impasse, needed a secure place to store her belongings. But due to our inability of being able to open the account, she had to keep her belongings to herself.
It is of no surprise that not only us, but many people, especially those who are new in Dhaka, face the same problem. Is there really no easy solution to it?
Why does favouritism supersede the value of potential? Is there really no place to go to make use of genuine talent?
We kept trying to understand what we lacked, and were deficient in. Not being able to open an account despite our qualifications and records was a very humiliating experience on our part.
Such prejudice, much nepotism. This sort of preferential bias prevails in most sectors of Bangladesh, due to which the most talented people are losing their place, being devoid of opportunities in our country.
Why, then, does favouritism supersede the value of potential? Is there really no place to go to make use of genuine talent?
If yes, where is the safety net?
No matter how harsh the truth sounds, the safety net is nowhere to be found in our country, which makes us even more vulnerable to likely predicaments in the future -- the irony here being that depositing talents is an issue of bigger concern than depositing savings.
Maisha Mehzabeen works at the Dhaka Tribune and is a graduate in economics.
