MFS transactions soar in Feb, reaching a single-month record

The month of February witnessed a remarkable surge in the number of transactions conducted through mobile financial services (MFS), reaching the highest number ever recorded in a single month. 

Along with the high number of transactions, the amount of money transacted in the month stood as the second highest, showcasing the growing prevalence and acceptance of digital payment methods.

According to a central bank report, 58.43 crore transactions were made using MFS like bKash, Nagad and Rocket in February. The previous high of 57.33 crore transactions took place in October last year.

The amount transacted also saw an increase with Tk1.30 lakh crore transferred using the mobile financial services, the second highest till date. The highest was in June last year with over Tk1.32 lakh crore in transactions.

Comparing February's figures to the same period last year, transaction amount increased by approximately 34%, with Tk97.31 thousand crores transacted in February 2023.

Industry stakeholders attribute the substantial increase in both transaction numbers and amount due to several factors, including the formation of people's habits favouring digital transactions and the ongoing development of the digital ecosystem.

Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, head of corporate communications at bKash, said, "The increasing confidence of customers in MFS is the reason behind the high number of transactions. Besides, bKash always tries to introduce new services keeping in mind the needs of customers." 

"Apart from this, the country's digital ecosystem is developing day by day, which is helping the MFS industry to grow," he added.

According to the central bank data, several services including cash out and person to person fund transfer (send money) witnessed record transactions in February.

Merchant payments via MFS at super shops and businesses amounted to Tk6,459 crore in February, which is an 83% increase from the same period in 2023 when Tk3,532 crore was traded. 

Regarding merchant payments, Shamsuddin said, "We have expanded the merchant payment service to more than 6 lakh business establishments across the country and we are trying to increase it every day."

Last June, the government disbursed Tk2,173 crore in various forms of assistance, including stipend, old-age allowance, using MFS.

According to central bank data, the total number of MFS subscribers stood at 22.15 crore at the end of February and subscribers have grown by almost 2.5 crore in just one year.

However, industry stakeholders have emphasised the need to differentiate between total accounts and unique customers. According to them, while the total number of accounts exceeded 22 crores, the number of unique customers may not be as high due to individuals maintaining multiple MFS accounts.

There are currently 13 mobile financial services operating in the country like bKash, Nagad, Rocket, Upay, MyCash and SureCash.