Bank Asia Limited and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on implementing digital financial inclusion to take banking services to the people’s doorstep.
President and Managing Director of Bank Asia Md. Arfan Ali and UNDP Bangladesh Country Director Sudipto Mukerjee inked the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations at a function held at the Bank Asia corporate office in the city’s Purana Paltan area.
Bank Asia Vice chairman A M Nurul Islam and UNDP Assistant Country Director Shayla Khan were also present at the function.
The MoU was signed aiming at bringing financial safety payments and financial services to the people’s doorsteps in every village of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Arfan Ali said, “This is a prime example of the private sector designing inclusive business models and services moving beyond corporate banking business.”
The partnership will expand bank account adoption, consequently accelerating the pathway out of poverty for approximately 10,000 people in the first two years, he added.
The initial pilot phase of this project will be one year long covering one district. During this period, a research study will be conducted to shape a mobile application for digital financial services developed by Bank Asia specifically for the target people. The pilot district will be selected by Bank Asia and UNDP during the research phase, he said.
He added Bank Asia will also invest in the development of the financial literacy training under the initiative. This will help, in particular, rural households to manage their finances in a sustainable manner, and will contribute in getting out of poverty.
Sudipto Mukerjee said disbursement of safety net payments through digital tools is becoming more and more popular in the world.
He said with this partnership, UNDP will ensure that people are exposed to financial literacy training, which is expected to impact daily decisions on living and livelihood and ensure an income at retirement.
Upon successful completion of the pilot phase, Bank Asia and UNDP will jointly explore the opportunities to scale up this initiative nationwide, he added, reports BSS.
