Over 3.2m DPS opened thru bKash app in 3 years

Customers of bKash have opened over 3.2 million deposit pension schemes (DPS) with four commercial banks and a non-bank financial institution—IDLC Finance, Mutual Trust Bank, Dhaka Bank, City Bank and BRAC Bank—through the mobile financial service (MFS) provider's app in a span of just three years.

The MFS provider organised a views-exchange programme at a convention centre in the capital today to celebrate the milestone with stakeholders, said a press release.

The invited guests at the programme discussed how to make financial inclusion sustainable through collaborations between MFS providers and the banking sector and utilising each other's expertise to reach financial services at everyone's doorsteps.

Addressing as the chief guest, Md Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, said, "Upon maturity, DPS money is deposited into the customers' bKash accounts without any hassle."

"On behalf of Bangladesh Bank and the people, I applaud bKash for this success," he said.

Speaking at the event, Kamal Quadir, founder and CEO of bKash, said, "Prosperity begins with savings. The day someone saves one taka, the future plan starts. That's the beauty of savings on the bKash app."

"The policy support of Bangladesh Bank was crucial too in this regard. bKash would never have been able to reach this point without the infrastructure of its partner banks," he added.

The MFS provider introduced monthly DPS of IDLC Finance in its platform in 2021.

Following the success of that product, four other commercial banks were gradually onboarded onto bKash's platform.

Currently, bKash customers can open monthly and weekly DPS with four commercial banks and a financial institution.

Subjecting to DPS type and organisation, customers can save from as little as Tk 250 to Tk 10,000.

M Jamal Uddin, managing director and CEO of IDLC Finance, Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, Sheikh Mohammad Maroof, managing director and CEO of Dhaka Bank, Mashrur Arefin, managing director and CEO of City Bank, Selim RF Hussain, managing director and CEO of BRAC Bank, and Ahsan Zaman Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of Trust Bank, also spoke at the event.