Bangladesh

The internet penetration in Bangladesh is at almost 30%.

45% of Bangladeshis are outside the formal banking system. The country has a high illiteracy rate and vast rural population, with women, marginal farmers and informal sector enterprises making up the bulk of the financially excluded. A National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) has promoted no-frills bank accounts, which have seen significant growth, and the Bangladesh Bank reports quarterly on Financial Inclusion. The absence of blanket digital identities for Bangladeshi during the covid pandemic led to the government opening accounts off the back of the creation of the employment records of ready-made garment (RMG) workers, and the international development organisation, BRAC, opened mobile wallet accounts for all their clients who had mobile phones, in order to deliver aid.

The Bangladeshi government has been attempting to modernise the banking ecosystem, with the Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network of 2010, an inter‐bank electronic funds transfer system. 

Local commentators have suggested that challenges to developing Open Banking in Bangladesh are an inherent silo-based, with different technological platforms being used across financial systems preventing integration of services. As technology systems upgrade and more Fintech are founded, it is hoped the path to Open Banking might emerge.

Bangladesh ranked 106th out of 134 countries in Wiley’s Digital Skills Global Index 2021.