ATM, internet banking, mobile financial services feel pressures of Eid rush

Automated banking transactions surge amid festival splurges with ATMs (automated teller machines), internet banking and MFS (mobile financial service) feeling pressures of Eid rush.

Barely a couple of days are to go before Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest Muslim religious festival, to be celebrated in festive and solemn manner across Bangladesh.

To tackle the pressure of cash transactions, the commercial banks being instructed by the central bank take necessary preparations to keep sufficient money in their ATM booths to smooth financial transactions during the days of Eid vacation.

Sources at Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, have said the use of the ATMs, internet banking and MFS gets enhanced by more than 50 per cent ahead and during the Eid holiday.

The FE correspondent found additional pressure of customers in several ATM and MFS points in places like Rampura, Bailey Road, Dhanmondi, Banani and Elephant Road in the capital on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

BB spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan says they have asked the commercial banks to ensure smooth and uninterrupted transactions through the ATM, Point of Sale (POS), QR Code, Internet Banking, Online e-Payment Gateway and MFS during the vacation.

"Banks need to ensure round-the-clock ATM service. If any technical problem occurs at ATM booths, it should be resolved as soon as possible and adequate cash supply should be ensured," he says about the regulatory direction.

The regulator also reminds banks of the urgency of ensuring security at ATM booths. Banks have also been directed to implement measures ensuring round-the-clock POS services, alongside raising awareness among merchants and customers to prevent fraud, according to him.

The central banker also has said all banks and their affiliated companies offering mobile financial services (MFS) such as Bkash, Rocket, and Nagad have been instructed to guarantee smooth transactions.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of United Commercial Bank (UCB) PLC Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid says the footprint of their clients and customers of other banks to encash money using their ATMs goes up significantly ahead of the Eid

Considering customers' growing cash demand, he says, they have taken all the possible preparations, regular replenishment of cash through alternative delivery channel, so that people do not face any difficulty in withdrawing cash during this Eid days. "The use of ATMs normally goes up in-between 40 and 60 per cent ahead and during such major holidays."

UCB is one of the three leading commercial banks of the country in terms of ATM networks and transactions.

To meet the rising demand for liquidity, the commercial banks' borrowing through interbank call-money market also increased in recent days.

The total turnover on the call-money market rose to Tk 574 billion in the last eleven working days of this month until March 15 from Tk 491 billion recorded in the previous 11 working days, according to the data of Bangladesh Bank.

Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, Head of Corporate Communications, bKash, says due to the convenience of digital transactions, the MFS sector has been experiencing significant growth over the past several years.

In particular, people tend to spend more for themselves and their loved ones during various festivals, such as Eid, Puja, and other celebrations, on special occasions, during holidays, and at the beginning and end of the year, he notes.

Major festivals like Eid often lead to a sharp surge in transactions, driven by factors such as salary and bonus disbursements, remittances from abroad, Eid shopping, dining at restaurants, travel, and zakat-donations, among others, he mentions.

Centering round these festivals, says Mr. Dalim, bKash also offers various cashback and discount campaigns, which are helping to drive habitual shifts among customers toward greater use of digital transactions.

This year, throughout the holy month of Ramadan, customers can enjoy up to Tk 10,000 in discounts and cashback for shopping clothes, footwear, electronics, groceries, ordering iftar-sehri, ticketing, hotel bookings etc with bKash payment.

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