IFC CEO praises bKash for strengthen financial inclusion

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BSS, Dhaka :
Jin-Yong Cai, Chief Executive Officer of International Finance Corporation (IFC), has praised bKash for taking financial services to the unbanked population.
“bKash has been building the foundation to strengthen financial inclusion in Bangladesh. Now common people can easily access essential financial services through a regulated service,” he said while visiting several bKash agent points in Dhaka recently, said a bKash press release Thursday.
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank, made an equity investment in bKash in 2013.
“bKash has set a global example in successful implementation of mobile money and is one of only a handful of efficiently operating mobile money services in the world. Alongside our excellent shareholder partners, we are really excited to be a part of the bKash story,” added the IFC CEO.
He also lauded the financial regulator for setting up “customer centric policy and maintaining consistency in its approach” to mobile money.
Launched in 2011, bKash, initially a joint venture of BRAC Bank and US based company Money in Motion, has more than 14 million customers.
Following IFC’s investment, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, made an equity investment in 2014.
The service provider has around 105,000 agent points nationwide to facilitate cash-in and cash-out service at every corner of Bangladesh.
Besides, money transfer, a bKash account holder can also use his or her mobile wallet for availing other services such as mobile phone top up, salary disbursement and payment for shopping.
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