Bangladesh Bank has directed all public and private bank branches to provide school banking services to a nearby educational institution. Along with offering regular financial education, banks must facilitate account openings and submit transaction related information to the relevant authorities. This directive was issued through an official circular on Sunday, March 16, ahead of Financial Literacy Day in Bangladesh, which will be observed on Monday, March 17.
Enhancing Financial Inclusion Through School Banking
According to the directive, the initiative falls under the School Banking Policy, which aims to increase students’ participation in financial inclusion activities. It emphasizes the need for students to become familiar with various financial services and actively engage in banking. To implement this policy, every bank operating in Bangladesh must extend its school banking services to at least one educational institution near each branch.
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Bangladesh Bank has outlined specific guidelines that banks must follow:
- Selecting Schools for Banking Services: For any bank to offer school banking services through its closest branch, at least one district, upazila or union-level educational institution must be selected.Students will be able to use the specified branch to obtain a variety of banking services.
- Avoiding Multiple Bank Affiliations: In order to prevent one institution from working with more than one bank, banks must choose the schools they assign to on their own.
- Financial Awareness & Technology Training: Banks shall take the required actions to enhance students’ knowledge of digital banking, account management, and financial literacy.
- Quarterly Reporting: Bank branches must submit quarterly reports to Bangladesh Bank’s respective offices, detailing their school banking activities at the district and upazila levels. These reports should include:
- The number of bank branches offering school banking services
- The number of educational institutions covered
- The number of student accounts opened
- Transaction volumes
- Details of financial education programs conducted
Bangladesh Bank officials have emphasized that over 10,000 bank branches exist across the country. While the number of educational institutions exceeds 400,000. Initially each bank branch will select one school to launch the initiative. Over time this program is expected to improve financial literacy nationwide contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by fostering financial inclusion and awareness.
Source: The Daily Ittefaq
