Mobile Financial Transactions Surge in October
In June of this year, the last month of the second quarter, mobile financial services (MFS) in Bangladesh recorded transactions amounting to Tk 155,835 crore, the highest in a single month. However, in July, the first month of the fiscal year, transactions dropped by 21.12% compared to June, totaling Tk 122,922.64 crore.
The decline was short-lived, as transactions rebounded in August to Tk 137,921 crore, followed by an increase to Tk 145,068 crore in September. By October, MFS transactions reached Tk 154,857 crore, marking a Tk 9,790 crore increase from the previous month and the second-highest single-month transaction volume to date.
This data was revealed in the latest report from the Bangladesh Bank.
MFS services in Bangladesh were first introduced on March 31, 2011, by Dutch-Bangla Bank through its Rocket platform. BRAC Bank later launched its MFS service, bKash, which remains the dominant player in the sector. Other notable providers include My Cash, mCash, Upay, Sure Cash, and Nagad, a service by the Postal Department.
According to the central bank, in January 2024, MFS transactions stood at Tk 129,500 crore, which increased slightly to Tk 130,140 crore in February. In April and May, transactions were Tk 144,929 crore and Tk 140,952 crore, respectively.
In comparison, December 2023 recorded transactions of Tk 124,548 crore, while November and October saw Tk 119,679 crore and Tk 120,596 crore, respectively. Transactions dipped to Tk 98,306 crore in July 2023, the first month of the fiscal year, after crossing Tk 1 lakh crore consistently during the last four months of FY 2022-23. Since August 2023, monthly transactions have remained above Tk 1 lakh crore.
The sector's rapid growth is evident in its customer base. In December 2018, MFS users numbered 6.76 crore, which more than tripled to 23.57 crore by October 2024. In September 2024, the number of customers stood at 23.37 crore, showcasing the growing adoption of mobile financial services in Bangladesh.
