Economic Reporter :
Speakers at a roundtable discussion said that the boosting usage of mobile wallets in the garment sector can accelerate the growing trend of wage digitization and aid women’s financial inclusion in the country.
The roundtable discussion was held at a city hotel organized by Women’s World Banking, a global authority on financial inclusion for low income women in developing economies on Wednesday.
The said overall financial inclusion in Bangladesh has increased to 50 percent of the population while mobile wallet usage has jumped from 3 to 21 percent.
However, growth for women users has not seen the same upward trajectory and the gender gap for access to financial services has grown from nearly 9 percent to nearly 30 percent, they added.
They further said wage digitization is part of the Bangladesh government’s push for a cashless society and could help millions of female garment workers become financially included.
Wage digitization also offers opportunities for factory owners to drive efficiencies in their payroll systems, they said.
“Wage digitization is an on-ramp to offering a broader range of financial services to low income women and, in doing so, enables them to attain more financial stability, to meet day-to-day’s needs and to better prepare for the future,” says Diana Gooley, manager of Digital Financial Services of the Women’s World Banking.
“We think that wage digitization has tremendous potential to give millions of low income women efficient financial services. Wages go straight to their mobile wallets, and they are then able to remit more effectively, and at a lower cost, and carry out other transactions more conveniently and securely,” continues Gooley.
He further said, “For factory owners, digitization reduces cash handling costs and leakage or loss, reduces expenses managing cash distribution, and can eliminate time lost as workers queue for cash on payday.”
Speakers at a roundtable discussion said that the boosting usage of mobile wallets in the garment sector can accelerate the growing trend of wage digitization and aid women’s financial inclusion in the country.
The roundtable discussion was held at a city hotel organized by Women’s World Banking, a global authority on financial inclusion for low income women in developing economies on Wednesday.
The said overall financial inclusion in Bangladesh has increased to 50 percent of the population while mobile wallet usage has jumped from 3 to 21 percent.
However, growth for women users has not seen the same upward trajectory and the gender gap for access to financial services has grown from nearly 9 percent to nearly 30 percent, they added.
They further said wage digitization is part of the Bangladesh government’s push for a cashless society and could help millions of female garment workers become financially included.
Wage digitization also offers opportunities for factory owners to drive efficiencies in their payroll systems, they said.
“Wage digitization is an on-ramp to offering a broader range of financial services to low income women and, in doing so, enables them to attain more financial stability, to meet day-to-day’s needs and to better prepare for the future,” says Diana Gooley, manager of Digital Financial Services of the Women’s World Banking.
“We think that wage digitization has tremendous potential to give millions of low income women efficient financial services. Wages go straight to their mobile wallets, and they are then able to remit more effectively, and at a lower cost, and carry out other transactions more conveniently and securely,” continues Gooley.
He further said, “For factory owners, digitization reduces cash handling costs and leakage or loss, reduces expenses managing cash distribution, and can eliminate time lost as workers queue for cash on payday.”
