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Agent banking is rapidly expanding financial inclusion across Bangladesh, significantly boosting women’s participation in the formal economy and driving strong growth in remittance transactions.
According to Bangladesh Bank, agent banking has evolved from a basic transaction platform into a key driver of women’s empowerment in rural areas and an essential channel for distributing remittance income.
As of September 2025, women own 49.4% of all agent banking deposit accounts, a milestone indicating that more women in remote and underserved regions are entering the formal financial system.
The number of women entrepreneurs in the sector is also rising, with 9.46% of agent banking outlets now operated by women. These women-led outlets are strengthening community-level trust and generating new employment opportunities.
Launched in 2013, agent banking has transformed access to financial services for marginalised and rural populations by enabling banks to operate without traditional branches.
Over the past decade, the model has achieved record growth in customer numbers, deposits, loans, and remittance collections.
Between July and September 2025, Bangladesh received Tk92,398 crore in remittances, of which Tk8,151 crore, or 8.8%, came through agent banking channels.
Notably, remittances collected in rural areas via agent banking were 10 times higher than those in urban locations, underscoring the concentration of migrant families in villages and their preference for convenient, local agent points.
During the same period, the 30 banks running agent banking operations mobilised Tk47,700 crore in deposits. Islami Bank topped the list with Tk21,383 crore, followed by Dutch-Bangla Bank with Tk6,752 crore and Bank Asia with Tk6,263 crore.
BRAC Bank led loan disbursements, with the sector distributing Tk31,910 crore between July and September. BRAC Bank alone disbursed Tk22,712 crore, while City Bank provided Tk3,563 crore and Bank Asia Tk1,684 crore.
Bangladesh Bank data shows that 30 banks currently operate agent banking services, with a total of 25.14 million accounts. Dutch-Bangla Bank has the highest number of accounts at 7.61 million, followed by Bank Asia with 7.43 million and Islami Bank with 5.61 million.
Nationwide, there are 20,488 agent banking outlets. Dutch-Bangla Bank operates 5,620 outlets, Bank Asia 5,035, and Islami Bank 2,792.
The number of accounts continues to climb. Total agent banking accounts stood at 24.07 million in December 2024 and rose to 25.11 million by September 2025, an increase of 1.03 million accounts in just nine months.
Bank officials say agent banking was initially introduced to simplify transactions for people in remote areas, but its popularity has now spread nationwide.
Customers can receive services at their doorstep and even access loans from agent points, contributing to record performance across the sector.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said, “The record growth in agent banking is not just a statistic, it represents a revolution in delivering financial services to remote regions. Agent banking has become a major channel for distributing remittance income and has connected rural families to inclusive financing.”
(DS)
