Stanchart to close Kawran Bazar branch under 'Go Cashless' initiative

The country's largest foreign bank Standard Chartered will stop its Kawran Bazar branch operation in Dhaka city from 2 July.

The bank has sent a notification in this regard to its customers on Thursday, which stated that the clients can access nearby branches at Pan Pacific Sonargaon and Dhanmondi.

"It is a part of business strategy as the bank is aggressively pushing for cashless transaction," said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh.

He said that bank has also removed its ATM booths outside its branches to discourage cash transaction. However, if the clients have compelling need, they will continue to have access to 10,000 ATMs of any banks with Visa electronic payments network at a cost of only BDT 15 per transaction, which is insignificant compared to the time, cost and energy to be saved to access the bank's 20 offsite ATMs, he added.

He said customers footfall in branches have been declining even before Covid. Hence, the bank has closed four banking booths, over the last 5 years. "We remain the only international bank with presence in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Bogra and Sylhet, with a total of 17 branches, 1 booth, 3 service centers and 1 islamic banking window, and 70 ATMs/CRMs across the country."

"In our digital age, going cashless is priceless. We believe that cash will lose relevance in the future. Bangladesh Bank has announced a vision to become cashless by 2027. In that pursuit, we are encouraging customers to make their transaction digitally, through their mobile app or the internet banking platform", he said.

The bank is consolidating branch operation despite having significant growth in its profit.

The bank's strong performance is a result of prudent risk management, as lower loan provisioning was the single biggest contributors (50%) of the incremental profit. Efficient liquidity and FX management, also helped delivering strong operating results.

One of the largest foreign investors in Bangladesh, Standard Chartered Bangladesh has the highest shareholders' equity of BDT 8,741 crores, and has the highest Capital Adequacy Ratio of 33%, reflecting bank's strong commitment towards Bangladesh.