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bKash Mobile Money in Bangladesh: Promoting Financial Inclusion for the Masses

Article Details

Pub. Date	: Dec' 2020
Product Name	: The IUP Journal of Case Folio
Product Type	: Article
Product Code	: IJCF31220
Author Name	: Anil Anirudhan and Sanjib Dutta
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Management
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 10

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Abstract

The case is about bKash, a mobile financial services company in Bangladesh that provided financial services to the underprivileged sections of society in Bangladesh. It provided millions of un-banked customers in the country access to mobile banking services such as operating savings accounts, paying for goods and services, and sending or receiving money in a reliable and efficient mode. The growth of bKash is seen through the entrepreneurial journey of Kamal Quadir, who founded the company in 2011 and was responsible for its growth and success. Various factors contributed to bKash's success and its growth as the number one provider of mobile financial services in Bangladesh. In the future, bKash is poised to utilize the latest technologies such as face recognition technology, block chain technology and IoT to enable more people to come under the ambit of financial inclusion and sustainable development. The case brings to light the role of financial inclusion as a tool in bringing economically vulnerable people into the financial main stream; how mobile banking contributes to the financial inclusion of the masses; the business model in a mobile banking organization; and the channel strategy in mobile banking.

There are many ways to make money and I'm not a saint, but when you do something that has a social uplifting agenda, tremendous progress is possible. It is tremendously exciting that we have done something that has a profound impact on the way common people behave with their finances. And technology allows it. It was not possible earlier. Now it is.1

- Kamal Quadir, CEO and Founder, bKash, in March 2018.

We are having a Facebook experience sitting here in Bangladesh.2

- Kamal Quadir, CEO and Founder, bKash, in March 2018.

We have seen massive changes in the Readymade Garments (RMG) sector of Bangladesh. Previously, factories used to pay through cash or banks, which was troublesome and time-consuming. The wage digitization is benefitting both the workers and the factory owners. Because of the largest distribution

network of bKash, Bangladeshi RMG factories are becoming more dynamic with wage digitization solutions.3

- Patrizio Pagano, Executive Director, World Bank, in April 2020.

Description

On March 1, 2020, bKash, a mobile financial service company in Bangladesh, announced that seven RMG firms had agreed to use the digital salary disbursement solution to distribute salaries to their employees' bKash accounts. The number of employees covered under the new agreement was 70,000. This method would allow the organizations to disburse salaries more easily and at lower cost than using the traditional banks.4 With the latest inclusion, the number of RMG firms using the bKash service stood at 400, covering more than 400,000 employees, the majority of them is women. A statement released by bKash said, "Digital salary disbursement solution of bKash is believed to play an active role in the implementation of digital Bangladesh through the empowerment of women in larger sense, and financial inclusion of the unbanked population."5

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