Agent banking is now one of the most promising names for strengthening the
rural economy. A weakening rural economy means a blow to the economic
system. Rural employment is mainly filling a large part of employment. Agent
banking has played an important role in sustaining the rural economy that has
been weakened due to epidemics, natural disasters and wars. The rural economy
mainly serves as the basis of the overall economy. Since the majority of the
country is rural, the survival of the overall economy of the country depends on
the strength of the rural economy. The economic climate is good only when the
balance between unemployment and employment, agriculture and marketing, and
demand and supply is right. Agent banking is one of the examples of modern
facilities in villages. The concept of agent banking is not very new. Now even a
common man in the village is familiar with agent banking. This has become
possible when the basic idea of banking has been expanded through agents. Very
easily, if the customer cannot reach the bank branches due to distance,
inconvenience or any other reason, the bank itself is taken within the customer's
reach. It is very close to the customer, like medical services or other services. As
a result, the transaction is completed faster and without customer harassment. It
goes without saying that there will be customer satisfaction. The special feature
of this banking model is that a bank will appoint an agent through an agreement,
who will provide financial services to the customers as a representative of the
bank. In this method, transactions are made online through software, where the
customer and the agent confirm their transactions through the biometric method.
Later, the customer is notified through SMS. In the last few years, the rural
economy has turned towards agent banking. As a result of its widespread spread
to remote areas, the benefits of financial transactions have reached the fingertips
along with employment opportunities. Banking is now within the reach of a
common man in the village. He is getting all the necessary services including
opening an account, depositing and withdrawing cash, checking balance, paying
utility bills and receiving remittances in his own area. And people of all classes
and professions, from farmers to laborers in villages, are coming under the ambit
of agent banking. At the same time, both labor and expenses are being saved.
Although the journey of agent banking is not very long.
The great progress made since just over a decade ago until now indicates the
future of agent banking. In 2013, the initiative to introduce agent banking in
Bangladesh was started with the help of UNDP. That year, the private sector
Bank Asia received approval to introduce agent banking as a specialized banking
service on an experimental basis. Then, on December 9, 2013, Bangladesh Bank
issued a policy. Within a few days of the issuance of the policy, Bank Asia
officially launched agent banking services on January 17, 2014. For this reason,

the day has now come to be known as Agent Banking Day. The first agent outlet
was opened in Jainsar Union of Munshiganj district, adjacent to Dhaka. After
that, there was no looking back in this sector. Due to its widespread popularity,
almost all other banks started introducing agent banking facilities. Branches
started increasing. It started spreading from one village to another. Numerous
educated and enterprising men and women are getting involved in this. The latest
report of Bangladesh Bank shows that the total deposit balance of agent banking
stood at Tk 50,562.89 crore at the end of March 2026. This deposit growth is a
reflection of the continuous progress of the last few years. Compared to the
December quarter of 2025, deposits increased by more than Tk 1,200 crore. That
is, the amount of deposits in December was Tk 49,356 crore. There has been a
growth of about 2.4 percent in just three months. Similarly, compared to March
2025, deposits increased by about Tk 7,929 crore in one year. That is, the amount
of deposits in March last year was Tk 42,632 crore. Accordingly, the annual
growth is 18.6 percent. The biggest strength of agent banking is its rural base.
Comparatively, it can be seen that the main growth of agent banking is being
concentrated in rural areas. Analyzing the data, it can be seen that about 82.5
percent of the total deposits came from the provincial areas. At the end of March
2026, the amount of deposits in rural areas stood at around 41,695.69 million
taka. In a year, rural deposits in this sector have increased by about 20.9 percent,
which is a strong indicator of rapid financial inclusion of the rural economy. On
the other hand, the amount of deposits in urban areas stood at around 8,867.20
million taka. According to the data, agent banking has also made significant
progress in terms of the number of accounts. At the end of March 2026, the total
number of accounts stood at 26,464,203. This is about 631,000 more than in
December 2025 and about 1796,000 more than in March 2025. This growth
clearly shows that the marginalized population of the country is rapidly
connecting to the formal banking system and the cash-dependent economy is
gradually transforming into a digital and bank-based system. The agent banking
sector is also in a strong position in terms of credit flow. At the end of March
2026, the total credit balance through this channel stood at 11,906.27 million
taka. Loan growth in one year was about 13.7 percent and in three months it was
1.3 percent. At the same time, the number of loan accounts stood at 2,40,286.
Agent banking has accelerated the loan distribution activities of banks. The
concept of agent bankingOriginated in the Latin American country of Brazil.
This banking concept has spread to Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico in the
fastest time. It has spread to poor countries in Africa including Kenya. About 85
percent of these customers are people from villages and remote areas - who have
never been to a bank branch before or have not had the opportunity to go. There
is another important point here. That is, agent banking is motivating women,
especially rural women, to save. A large portion of the customers are women.

Even if there was no agent banking system, these women might have joined the
banking system at some point, but it is certain that they would not have done so
quickly. In the reality of the scarcity of bank branches, long distances and travel
costs, agent banking is now the main hope of the people of rural Bengal.
Involving and inspiring the rural population with banking activities is all the
contribution of agent banking. Most of those who have started banking activities
in the last few years, i.e. depositing, withdrawing money and DPS or saving, are
doing so through agent banking. Anyone who wants it cannot get a full-fledged
bank branch at their fingertips, but they are getting agent banks. By integrating
small savings into the formal banking system, increasing women's participation,
and extending financial services to marginalized areas, agent banking has now
become one of the main pillars of financial inclusion in the country. In total,
crossing more than 50 thousand crore taka in deposits is not just a statistical
achievement, but it is also acting as an important regulator of the structural
transformation of the rural economy of Bangladesh. In short, agent banking has
been able to gain the trust of the people. In line with its importance, agent
banking has now become the driving force of the rural economy.

Alok Acharya
Essayist and Columnist