Innovision Consulting has released Digest 8, assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 on the financial sector. Agent Banking serves as a vital lifeline for rural Bangladesh, where 85% of the country’s 11,320 outlets are located. However, the nationwide lockdown caused a 70.5% crash in monthly revenue for agents, with average earnings falling from BDT 33,118 to just BDT 9,757. This sharp decline has made it nearly impossible for agents to cover even basic employee salaries, threatening the sustainability of a system that manages over 5.27 million accounts.
The study reveals that while 79% of outlets remained open, their operating hours were slashed by over 60%, averaging only 3.1 hours a day. Innovision’s data indicates that 41% of agents faced significant difficulty accessing physical bank branches for liquidity, leading to a prospective liquidity crunch in remote areas.
Innovision recommends that parent banks immediately channel emergency cash reserves to agents and accelerate the digitalization of processes like account opening and social safety net disbursements. As we look toward financial inclusion targets, leveraging these outlets to channel CMSME stimulus packages is critical for safeguarding the livelihoods of the agents themselves.
Read the full report here: Link
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