Bangladesh processed about 8.61% of the world’s daily mobile money transactions in 2024, reflecting significant growth in accessing digital financial services through mobile financial services (MFS).
This development was highlighted in a report titled “The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2025”, recently published by the London-based Groupe Spécial Mobile Association (GSMA).
According to the Bangladesh Bank, the average daily transactions through MFS accounts reached Tk4,833 crore (approximately US$ 396.17 million) in 2024. Globally, mobile money providers handled about US$ 4.6 billion in daily transactions through 2.1 billion mobile money accounts, the report said.
As of December 2024, people in Bangladesh held about 238.68 million mobile money accounts, making up 11.36% of the global total.
Despite nearly 57% of the population being outside the formal financial system, Bangladesh stood out prominently in the GSMA report for strong growth in MFS activities, driven by providers like bKash.
The share of customers using mobile money for loans doubled from 7% in 2023 to 14% in 2024. Since its commercial launch in 2021, bKash’s digital loan service, offered in partnership with a major commercial bank, has helped around 1 million customers secure over 5.5 million loans totalling about Tk28 billion.
Similarly, the number of customers using mobile money to transfer funds into savings accounts doubled from 7% to 14% in 2024. By the end of 2024, over 3.2 million Daily Payment Savings (DPS) accounts were opened through the bKash app, in cooperation with four commercial banks and a non-bank financial institution (NBFI).
Insurance payments through mobile money platforms also saw significant growth, with 10% of Bangladeshi customers paying for insurance products in 2024, up from 4% the previous year. bKash introduced insurance services on its platform in 2021, allowing customers in remote areas to access insurance companies without local presence.
bKash’s data highlights Bangladesh’s global position in mobile money. Although Bangladesh accounts for just 2.19% of the world’s population, bKash represents 3.8% of global mobile money users and manages 3.5% of worldwide MFS agents.
Despite challenges, Bangladesh continues to maintain a strong and innovative presence in the global mobile money ecosystem, demonstrating significant progress in financial inclusion on the international stage.