Agent banking has emerged as a crucial channel for distributing foreign earnings to remote areas of Bangladesh, handling 5.1% of the total remittances sent home between April and June 2026.
According to the latest agent banking data from Bangladesh Bank, expatriate workers sent BDT 5,919.85 crore through agent banking outlets out of a total remittance inflow of BDT 115,223.20 crore during the second quarter. This indicates that nearly BDT 5 out of every BDT 100 in remittances was disbursed via agent channels.
The rural population remains the primary beneficiary of this service. Remittance inflows through agent banking in rural areas were 12.9% higher than in urban regions, ensuring that expatriate funds directly support families in villages. This has minimized the need for recipients to travel long distances to traditional bank branches and facilitated the rapid integration of foreign income into the local economy.
Agent banking continues to play a significant role in bringing unbanked populations into the formal financial system. As of June 2026, 30 out of 62 scheduled banks in Bangladesh were offering agent banking services through 20,597 active outlets managed by 15,423 agents. Notably, 85.5% of these outlets are located in rural areas, compared to just 14.5% in urban centers.
Central bank data shows that out of 210.84 million total deposit accounts in the banking sector as of June 2026, approximately 12.9% were opened through agent banking. However, these accounts represent 2% of total bank deposits. During the same period, agent banking accounted for 1.4% of total bank loan accounts and 0.7% of total outstanding loans.
Transaction volumes are also expanding rapidly. Between April and June 2026, agent banking outlets processed 20.65 million transactions valued at BDT 146,188.34 crore, highlighting their growing importance for day-to-day financial needs in remote regions.
Bankers attribute the growth in remittance flow to the lower operational and infrastructure costs of agent banking compared to full-fledged branches, allowing services to be offered through local markets and shops.
In addition, agent banking has driven greater financial inclusion for women. By the end of June 2026, women held nearly 49.8% of the total deposit accounts under agent banking, while women represented 11.4% of all operating agents.
