While digital transactions — covering payments through mobile wallets, internet banking, and other electronic channels — grew in volume in Bangladesh in 2024, their share of total payments declined, according to the Bangladesh Payment Systems Report 2024 published by Bangladesh Bank.
The report noted that traditional, non-digital payments are now expanding faster than digital channels, while mobile financial services (MFS) are experiencing a drop in transactions.
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Bangladesh Bank data show that the number of digital transactions rose from 36.67 crore in December 2023 to 40.31 crore in December 2024. Despite this growth, digital payments accounted for a smaller share of all transactions, falling from 51 percent to 47 percent.
In terms of the money moved, the total value of digital transactions increased slightly, from Tk 75,140 crore to Tk 76,340 crore, but their share of total transaction value edged down from 29 percent to 28 percent.
A significant factor driving this trend is behaviour within the MFS sector, a cornerstone of the country’s digital finance landscape.
The central bank report notes a sharp decrease in the share of MFS-based digital transactions. Their volume share fell from 46.82 percent to 40.99 percent, while their value share edged down slightly from 2.37 percent to 2.36 percent of all transactions.
According to BB, this reflects a “growing shift toward cash-based behaviour within the MFS ecosystem,” with users increasingly opting for cash-out services rather than pure digital transfers.
Non-digital payments, by contrast, surged in both number and value. Their transaction volume rose by 31.4 percent, from 34.62 crore in December 2023 to 45.49 crore in December 2024, while their share of total transaction value increased from 71 percent to 72 percent.
The data suggest that while digital channels are widely used for small, frequent payments, high-value transactions continue to rely on cash, cheques, and over-the-counter methods.
Despite these shifts, several digital platforms recorded strong growth. Internet Banking Fund Transfer (IBFT) emerged as the dominant mode under the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB), accounting for 80 percent of the system’s transaction value, states the BB report.
The report also highlights regulatory milestones in 2024, including the enactment of the Payment and Settlement System Act, 2024, which provides a stronger legal foundation for the payment ecosystem, and the launch of TakaPay, the country’s first domestic card scheme.
The report emphasises that strategic interventions are needed to counter the resurgence of traditional payments and cash dependency.
Encouraging the migration of large-value institutional and government transactions to digital platforms will be critical for Bangladesh to achieve its vision of a less-cash economy, it adds.
Meanwhile, the Bangla QR system, widely used in universities, hospitals, and digital cattle markets, recorded strong growth, with transaction volume rising by 104 percent and transaction value by 69 percent.
Overall, Bangladesh’s payment ecosystem in 2024 witnessed significant regulatory, infrastructural, and supervisory developments aimed at fostering a secure, efficient, and inclusive digital financial system.