Staff Reporter

An individual does not have to fill out multiple forms to open a new account with state-owned Sonali Bank. From filling out information to verification, all tasks are being done through a mobile app in around five minutes.

The Sonali eSheba app helps users open a new account with the bank on the go.

Sonali Bank Managing Director and CEO Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan said they have taken the initiative to get new customers on board without having them visit the bank amid the corona pandemic.
The full process is conducted through a paperless E-KYC mode.

E-KYC or an electronic system of the ‘know your customer’, which is a process of verifying the customers’ credentials with the digital national identity records within a few seconds. This system helps financial institutions to reduce costs and operation time in parallel.

Sharing his own experience, the Sonali Bank CEO said,” I opened my account in five minutes. Tech-savvy people can do it in two minutes. There is no need to visit the branches for opening new bank accounts.”

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), an independent wing of Bangladesh Bank, has issued a circular for all financial organizations to run E-KYC.

Sonali Bank introduced the Sonali eSheba app in March 2020 to transform the financial institute into a digital bank. The bank welcomed 99,033 new customers through the Sonali eSheba app.

Besides, Sonali e-Wallet has provided services to 137,081 users since the launching of the digital banking platform in March last year. The users conduct at least 6000 transactions per day using the e-Wallet services.
Sonali Bank CEO Ataur Rahman said, “We wanted to reduce the pressure on branch banking through the digital app.”

The state-owned bank developed all digital services using its internal resources for maintaining the highest level of security in its digital services.

Regarding the electronic KYC of Sonali Bank, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Prof Dr Shah Mohammad Ahsan Habib said the service will change the public perception about state-owned banks in terms of using technology and offering digital services.

He said,” Sonali Bank is leading the way in terms of the number of customers. There is no alternative to using eKYC to manage the large number of data the banks need to process. The bank should focus on capacity building of the staff to manage the digital services.”

The bank uses the Porichoy gateway of the ICT Division to verify the customers’ data on electronic KYC.

The gateway verifies the data as customers gives input with the Sonali eSheba app. It can verify any national identity instantly with the Bangladesh National Digital Architecture (BNDA).