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Financial inclusion, especially the adoption of fintech, has emerged as a crucial avenue for removing the financial access divides in developing countries, including Bangladesh. Following the comprehensive analysis, this article intends to outline Bangladesh's recent experiences with fintech-based financial inclusion, identify the short-comings and hence make policy suggestions. Being a descriptive research, cross-sectional and observational research approaches are applied for the explanatory analysis of secondary data. Results suggest an urban-rural gap in the implementation of digital financial services, with urban areas consistently having higher rates of fully online branches and a greater number of financial machines. Despite this, the sharp rise in the issuance of active cards is a positive sign suggesting an expansion of consumer base and an adoption of electronic modes of payment. Moreover, inter-bank electronic fund transfers and online banking have experienced increasing uptake, revealing a progressing trend towards digital transactions within the banking industry. Additionally, the study identifies a speedy growth in the number of mobile financial services accounts in both urban and rural areas. This study adds to the exchange of ideas regarding financial inclusion by carrying out a detailed study of Bangladesh's digital financial transformation, exemplifying the accomplishments, obstacles, and future research directions. It highlights the need for targeted policies and ongoing research efforts to build inclusive financial systems to serve the entire society’s interest. Nevertheless, the observations will have both theoretical and practical significance, contributing towards building capability in harnessing technology for sustainability, community uplifting, and shaping a brighter future.  

Financial inclusion aims to include the unbanked population in the official financial system. To quickly serve the unbanked population, this study aims to investigate the concept of agent banking as a means of financial inclusion and to assess the elements that influence the acceptance of agent banking in Bangladesh. The study also covered the main advantages of agent banking and pertinent barriers to its adoption. Using a basic judgmental sampling technique, 195 respondents from the Chittagong region made up the study's sample. Face-to-face interviews and a structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The impact was investigated using statistical measures such as mean, standard deviation, correlation, and regression. Kendall's W test, also known as Kendall's coefficient of concordance, was utilized to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of accepting agent banking in this study. According to the result, there is a significant positive correlation between acceptance of agent banking and independent variables - perceived trust, convenience, perceived risk, awareness, and service quality. The study also found that easy banking is the key reason for agent banking, marked by the respondents, followed by the nearest location and adding new customers. Lack of training is the major challenge, followed by a lack of logistic support and cyber security risk in implementing agent banking in Bangladesh.

This study examines the effects of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) on the growth and composition of bank deposits in Bangladesh over the period 2015-2024 based on bank-level panel data for 26 commercial banks. Using Fixed Effects (FE), Random Effects (RE), and Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation and controlling for COVID-19 dummy, the study finds that MFS transaction volume has a negative and statistically significant effect on deposit growth. This indicates that rising mobile financial activity slows the pace at which banks accumulate deposits. However, MFS positively and significantly affects both current and savings deposit levels, consistent with the financial inclusion channel through which mobile platforms channel funds into the formal banking system. The effect on total deposits and fixed deposits is statistically insignificant, indicating no direct substitution at the aggregate or long-term deposit level. Bank size and loan-to-deposit ratio are the most consistent determinants across all models. Non-performing loans negatively affect depositor confidence. The COVID-19 pandemic dampened deposit growth and total deposit accumulation but exerted limited influence on current and savings deposit levels. These findings suggest that MFS and traditional banking are complementary rather than substitutive, and that well-designed policy interventions can harness MFS-driven financial inclusion to strengthen rather than undermine the deposit base of commercial banks in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, women’s participation in small businesses is rapidly increasing. Although the lack of capital appears to be a significant barrier, banks play an important role in assisting women in obtaining small business loans. This study examines whether foreign banks operating in Bangladesh facilitate access to financing for women entrepreneurs. Using primary data collected from 100 women-owned small businesses in Dhaka, this study employs probit regression models to estimate the likelihood of obtaining small business loans from foreign banks. The results indicate that the accessibility of credit by women entrepreneurs is much less when they apply to foreign banks. The estimated marginal effects convey that the likelihood of securing financing on application to a foreign bank is expected to be lower by about 52 percentage points than domestic banks. The findings also reveal the significance of firm performance, managerial traits, and bank-firm relationships in determining access to credit. Overall, the findings suggest that foreign banks contribute only marginally to small business financing for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, implying the need for more targeted policy interventions.

This study aims to assess and rank all thanas in Bangladesh according to their performance in financial inclusion. It employed a composite index for that purpose, using three proxies of financial inclusion: deposit per account, advance per account, and advance deposit ratio. Cross-sectional data obtained from the Scheduled Banks Statistics of Bangladesh Bank are utilized to rank 615 thanas in Bangladesh. It categorizes 615 thanas into three classifications: high, medium, and poor financial inclusion. There are large differences in the availability and utilization of financial services among thanas. Thanas have a low level of integration into the formal financial system, as indicated by the average financial inclusion index of 0.068 and a maximum of 0.628. The rate of financial inclusion is continuously lower in rural, remote, and hilly regions compared to economically active and urban areas. Kotwali in Chattogram, Dhaka, etc., is a higher-ranked thana that demonstrates stronger financial inclusion, with higher per-account values and greater reliance on credit. By comparison, the lower-ranked thanas such as Ramgati, Char Shasivuson, Madan etc. are characterized by a low level of financial integration, poor institutionalization as well as extensive use of informal finance. The paper concludes that the present policy actions have failed to create broad financial inclusion improvements. It proposes multi-dimensional interventions, which are focused to tackle the urban-rural divide. This study will provide the policy makers with useful information to determine the actual situation by determining the highly included and excluded thanas in Bangladesh. Eventually, it will help the interested parties to develop thana or area-based measures to secure financial inclusiveness of all that result to promoting comprehensive and sustainable economic development. The study is also unique because it is likely to be the first initiative that has attempted the study at micro level i.e. thana based analysis of financial inclusion in Bangladesh.

This study examines the effects of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) on the growth and composition of bank deposits in Bangladesh over the period 2015-2024 based on bank-level panel data for 26 commercial banks. Using Fixed Effects (FE), Random Effects (RE), and Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation and controlling for COVID-19 dummy, the study finds that MFS transaction volume has a negative and statistically significant effect on deposit growth. This indicates that rising mobile financial activity slows the pace at which banks accumulate deposits. However, MFS positively and significantly affects both current and savings deposit levels, consistent with the financial inclusion channel through which mobile platforms channel funds into the formal banking system. The effect on total deposits and fixed deposits is statistically insignificant, indicating no direct substitution at the aggregate or long-term deposit level. Bank size and loan-to-deposit ratio are the most consistent determinants across all models. Non-performing loans negatively affect depositor confidence. The COVID-19 pandemic dampened deposit growth and total deposit accumulation but exerted limited influence on current and savings deposit levels. These findings suggest that MFS and traditional banking are complementary rather than substitutive, and that well-designed policy interventions can harness MFS-driven financial inclusion to strengthen rather than undermine the deposit base of commercial banks in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, women’s participation in small businesses is rapidly increasing. Although the lack of capital appears to be a significant barrier, banks play an important role in assisting women in obtaining small business loans. This study examines whether foreign banks operating in Bangladesh facilitate access to financing for women entrepreneurs. Using primary data collected from 100 women-owned small businesses in Dhaka, this study employs probit regression models to estimate the likelihood of obtaining small business loans from foreign banks. The results indicate that the accessibility of credit by women entrepreneurs is much less when they apply to foreign banks. The estimated marginal effects convey that the likelihood of securing financing on application to a foreign bank is expected to be lower by about 52 percentage points than domestic banks. The findings also reveal the significance of firm performance, managerial traits, and bank-firm relationships in determining access to credit. Overall, the findings suggest that foreign banks contribute only marginally to small business financing for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, implying the need for more targeted policy interventions.

This study aims to assess and rank all thanas in Bangladesh according to their performance in financial inclusion. It employed a composite index for that purpose, using three proxies of financial inclusion: deposit per account, advance per account, and advance deposit ratio. Cross-sectional data obtained from the Scheduled Banks Statistics of Bangladesh Bank are utilized to rank 615 thanas in Bangladesh. It categorizes 615 thanas into three classifications: high, medium, and poor financial inclusion. There are large differences in the availability and utilization of financial services among thanas. Thanas have a low level of integration into the formal financial system, as indicated by the average financial inclusion index of 0.068 and a maximum of 0.628. The rate of financial inclusion is continuously lower in rural, remote, and hilly regions compared to economically active and urban areas. Kotwali in Chattogram, Dhaka, etc., is a higher-ranked thana that demonstrates stronger financial inclusion, with higher per-account values and greater reliance on credit. By comparison, the lower-ranked thanas such as Ramgati, Char Shasivuson, Madan etc. are characterized by a low level of financial integration, poor institutionalization as well as extensive use of informal finance. The paper concludes that the present policy actions have failed to create broad financial inclusion improvements. It proposes multi-dimensional interventions, which are focused to tackle the urban-rural divide. This study will provide the policy makers with useful information to determine the actual situation by determining the highly included and excluded thanas in Bangladesh. Eventually, it will help the interested parties to develop thana or area-based measures to secure financial inclusiveness of all that result to promoting comprehensive and sustainable economic development. The study is also unique because it is likely to be the first initiative that has attempted the study at micro level i.e. thana based analysis of financial inclusion in Bangladesh.

Financial inclusion aims to include the unbanked population in the official financial system. To quickly serve the unbanked population, this study aims to investigate the concept of agent banking as a means of financial inclusion and to assess the elements that influence the acceptance of agent banking in Bangladesh. The study also covered the main advantages of agent banking and pertinent barriers to its adoption. Using a basic judgmental sampling technique, 195 respondents from the Chittagong region made up the study's sample. Face-to-face interviews and a structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The impact was investigated using statistical measures such as mean, standard deviation, correlation, and regression. Kendall's W test, also known as Kendall's coefficient of concordance, was utilized to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of accepting agent banking in this study. According to the result, there is a significant positive correlation between acceptance of agent banking and independent variables - perceived trust, convenience, perceived risk, awareness, and service quality. The study also found that easy banking is the key reason for agent banking, marked by the respondents, followed by the nearest location and adding new customers. Lack of training is the major challenge, followed by a lack of logistic support and cyber security risk in implementing agent banking in Bangladesh.

Financial inclusion, especially the adoption of fintech, has emerged as a crucial avenue for removing the financial access divides in developing countries, including Bangladesh. Following the comprehensive analysis, this article intends to outline Bangladesh's recent experiences with fintech-based financial inclusion, identify the short-comings and hence make policy suggestions. Being a descriptive research, cross-sectional and observational research approaches are applied for the explanatory analysis of secondary data. Results suggest an urban-rural gap in the implementation of digital financial services, with urban areas consistently having higher rates of fully online branches and a greater number of financial machines. Despite this, the sharp rise in the issuance of active cards is a positive sign suggesting an expansion of consumer base and an adoption of electronic modes of payment. Moreover, inter-bank electronic fund transfers and online banking have experienced increasing uptake, revealing a progressing trend towards digital transactions within the banking industry. Additionally, the study identifies a speedy growth in the number of mobile financial services accounts in both urban and rural areas. This study adds to the exchange of ideas regarding financial inclusion by carrying out a detailed study of Bangladesh's digital financial transformation, exemplifying the accomplishments, obstacles, and future research directions. It highlights the need for targeted policies and ongoing research efforts to build inclusive financial systems to serve the entire society’s interest. Nevertheless, the observations will have both theoretical and practical significance, contributing towards building capability in harnessing technology for sustainability, community uplifting, and shaping a brighter future.