Islami Bank Bangladesh : Bangladesh is well on track for adopting FinTech for sustainable growth - Dr. Salim

'Bangladesh is well on track for adopting Financial Technology (FinTech) for sustainable growth' said Professor Dr. Md. Salim Uddin, FCA, FCMA, Chairman, Executive Committee of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, Chairman, Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation and Professor of Accounting Department, University of Chittagong. He said this in an 'Executive Development Program' organized by Islami Bank Training & Research Academy (IBTRA) on Saturday, 2 April 2022 at virtual platform. Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director & CEO of the bank addressed the program as chief moderator. Muhammad Qaisar Ali and Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Directors addressed the program as guest participants. S. M. Rabiul Hassan, Principal, IBTRA presided over the program. Deputy Managing Directors, Chief Risk Officer, CAMLCO, top executives; Head of Zones and Branch Incumbents joined the program virtually.

Professor Salim said, the FinTech ecosystem in Bangladesh has been growing and is expected to grow in the coming years. The market of digital financial technology in Bangladesh is also growing, he added. Bangladesh is trailing in terms of using technology to automate and digitalize financial activities. According to Light Castle Partners, the FinTech industry in Bangladesh enjoys an unsaturated market bursting with opportunities for cutting-edge and innovative financial services. Despite the increasing adoption of Technology, lack of interoperability remains a major concern that obstructs further growth of Digital Financial Service in Bangladesh, he said.

He underscored that, infrastructure readiness in access to electricity; mobile network coverage; e-Governance and access to digital services are well on track for achieving sustainable growth in Bangladesh. We have to importantly focus on access to internet connections, quality and speed, affordability of mobile devices and internet for accelerating the growth, he added. He stressed on 4 basic pillars of digital Bangladesh including infrastructure, human capital, financial and policy readiness for facing 4th industrial revolution.

He highlighted the challenges and opportunities for 4th industrial revolution in banking & financial sector of Bangladesh. The challenges includes security ricks and cyber-crime, building trust & rapport and increased competition while the opportunities are enhanced customer experiences, increased security and efficiency as well as flexibility for FinTech. He said, Central Bank Digital Currency-CDBC is increasing rapidly across the world. 87 countries around the world exploring Government Coins while 7 countries fully launched. To cope with these changes we have to focus on Artificial Intelligence bots instead of call centers, cashless transaction instead of ATM Booths and block-chain to avoid audits. To expedite sustainable growth he stressed on bringing 522 crore unique mobile phone users of the world under the FinTech through Apps and other platforms.

Professor Salim said, we have high level of government commitment, supportive regulations and guidelines and Digital Financial Service Lab which shall help to expedite the sustainable growth. He said adding that, IBBL is working in line with government policies which made this bank sustainable one recognized by Bangladesh Bank. He said that, the Global FinTech Market would reach 32 trillion USD by 2026 and called upon the concerned to develop and arrange high expert committee institutionally and nationally for adopting the changes and development.

Mohammed Monirul Moula said in his speech that, IBBL is working with the year theme of `Sustainable Growth through FinTech Solution'. This bank is adopting with latest technologies, he added. He said, the bank has been working to bring financially disadvantaged people under financial services using FinTech. He called upon all to avail all the financial services of IBBL including modern technology rich services, CellFin app and iBanking.