The deposits in No-Frills Accounts (NFAs) surged to over Tk 47.91 billion in January-March period of this year, marking a 4.94 per cent increase from that in the previous quarter and a substantial 32.38 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
As on 31 March 2024, the total number of Tk. 10/50/100 accounts stood at over 27.26 million, registering a 1.04 per cent increase from the previous quarter and a 2.73 per cent rise year-on-year.
Until 31 March 2024, individuals holding these accounts received a cumulative credit amount of Tk 7.64 billion from the Tk 2.0 billion and Tk 5.0 billion refinance schemes designed for NFA owners, aimed at bolstering financial stability among marginalised groups.
Foreign remittances received through these accounts reached Tk 6.87 billion by March 2024, marking a 1.84 per cent increase from the amount at the end of December 2023, the data showed.
However, deposits in School Banking Accounts (SBAs) dropped to Tk 21.96 billion during the quarter, down by 12.08 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
The total number of Tk. 10/50/100 accounts, excluding SBAs and Street Urchin Accounts, stood at 27.26 million as of March 2024. These accounts hold a total deposit of Tk 47.91 billion.
Among these small accounts, the "Farmers" category emerged as the largest component this quarter.
Farmers account for 38.15 per cent of the small accounts, followed by beneficiaries of social safety net (SSN) programmes with 36.88 per cent and the extreme poor 12.76 per cent. A small but significant component of these accounts is the NFAs for Readymade Garments (RMG) workers, constituting 3.56 per cent of the total Tk.10/50/100 accounts.
Deposits in NFAs for the extreme poor rose by 2.14 per cent in the last quarter from that of the previous quarter and 13.33 per cent from the March 2023 quarter, indicating positive savings behaviour despite inflationary pressures.
The number of Tk. 100 accounts for RMG workers increased by 3.45 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 20.94 per cent year-on-year. This trend indicates that more and more RMG workers are opening bank accounts, expanding the financial inclusion network.
Overall deposits in these accounts in the last quarter surged by 20.57 per cent compared to the previous quarter and by 27.89 per cent compared to the March 2023 quarter.
State-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) led in opening NFAs, as they opened over 14.37 million accounts, comprising 52.71 per cent of the total. Specialised banks (SBs) accounted for 24.72 per cent and private commercial banks (PCBs) 22.57 per cent.
Foreign commercial banks (FCBs) have a negligible share of the accounts due to their limited number of branches.
Zafar Alam, Managing Director and CEO of Social Islami Bank PLC, emphasised that the total deposits in such bank accounts should be higher than the current figures.
He, however, noted an encouraging trend: both the number of accounts and the volume of deposits were steadily increasing.
Mr. Alam pointed out his bank's success in introducing specialized products for drivers and hawkers, with total deposits from hawkers reaching between Tk 200 million and Tk 300 million.
He acknowledged the challenges lying in promoting financial inclusion through these accounts, but stressed the importance of prioritising such initiatives for greater benefit of the country.
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