Staff Reporter :
Economists at a discussion on Tuesday said that Bangladesh had lagged far behind in expanding financial inclusion and infrastructure development and government policy support to improve the situation.
The higher tax rate is one of the major barriers in expansion of the financial inclusion in the country, they said.
Besides, difficult access to localities, demand induced impediment and supply-led bottlenecks are the major barriers for the financial inclusion, they added.
According to the EIU global Microscope report 2020, Bangladesh ranked 44 out of 55 countries in overall financial inclusion and it ranked 48 out of the 55 countries in consumer protection index.
The observations were found at the training programme titled “Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh: Imperatives and Practices” organized by Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) and the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) at the ERF Auditorium in Dhaka.
Speaking at the programme, PRI’s Executive Director Dr Ahsan H Mansur said, “Higher tax rate is a barrier in expansion of financial inclusion in the country.”
Suggesting the government to upgrade all database for landscapes development, he said, “There is digitally huge potential in all sectors in the country. Though, there are some challenges too. However, we have to resolve our weaknesses.”
The economist called upon mobile financial organisations to ensure transparency and good governance in their services for the sake of mass people.
“The economic circumference of Bangladesh is developing day by day so that every one of the country’s people should be included under the financial inclusion,” Dr Mansur said.
PRI Research Director Dr Abdur Razzaque said, “Income disparity is increasing vastly in the country. So, the government should take proper initiative to reduce it. The disparity may decline if financial inclusion is gone up.”
“We should include all people of the country including poor and women under digital financing services,” he added.
Debdulal Roy, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank, said, “We should adopt with the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) mechanism. The government spends a lot of money in social safety net programme. We can’t distribute properly it due to lack of database.”
PRI Director Dr Bazlul H Khondker, ERF President Sharmeen Rinvy and its General Secretary S M Rashidul Islam, among others, spoke at the event.
