Transactions through agent banking accounts dropped by 6.34 per cent in February to Tk 692.95 billion, compared to the previous month, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
In January, Tk 739.83 billion was transacted through such banking.
Also, inward remittances collected and disbursed by banking agents saw a decrease of nearly 25% in February, compared to January.
In February, Tk 21.77 billion in remittances were disbursed through agent banking, down from Tk 28.96 billion in January, the central bank data show.
Agent banking, first introduced in Bangladesh in 2013 by Bank Asia and Agrani Bank, have since been extended by other banks up to the union level, widening accessibility across the country.
This initiative aims to provide financial services to rural and underprivileged people having limited access to traditional banking facilities.
More significantly, a major portion of the remittances is going to rural areas, thereby rejuvenating the rural economy.
The ratio of agent banking accounts in urban to rural areas stands at nearly 16:84. In February, there are 22 million accounts with a deposit balance of Tk 362.38 billion, up from Tk 358.96 billion in January, according to BB data.
Currently, 31 scheduled banks offer agent banking facilities, providing a secure alternate banking channel in remote areas of the country. However, the number of outlets decreased by 18 at the end of February compared to the previous month, the BB data show.
Despite the decline in transactions, lending through agent banking surged to Tk 8.02 billion in February from Tk 7.73 billion in January. And the loan recovery during the month amounted to Tk 5.75 billion.
Microcredit loans are increasingly disbursed through agent banking outlets, compared to the traditional banking system.
As of February, there are a total of 15,774 agents -- 13,267 in rural areas and 2,507 in urban areas -- and 21,584 outlets. Of the outlets, 18,467 are in rural areas and 3,117 in urban areas.
The number of rural agents is 5.3 times higher than urban agents. Similarly, the number of rural outlets is nearly 5.9 times higher than urban outlets.
Dhaka division boasts the highest number of agents, with 4,045 (26%), while Mymensingh division has the lowest at 850 (5.0%).
In terms of outlets, Dhaka division leads with 5,407 (25%), while Sylhet division has the lowest with 1,228 outlets (6%).
Group bank-wise, private commercial banks (PCBs) dominate the agent banking landscape, with 11,058 agents (70% of total) and 16,637 outlets (77% of total).
Islamic banks (IBs) come in second with 3,922 agents (25% of total) and 4,153 outlets (19% of total). And state-owned banks (SOBs) have 794 agents (5.0% of total) and 794 outlets (4.0% of total), according to BB data.
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