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13 Mar 2013
BB to allow banks to appoint individual, NGO, MFI as agent

Bangladesh Bank has drafted a guideline on the agent banking allowing a bank to appoint any individual or NGO or microfinance institution as its agent for providing banking services to people, especially to the poor people.
The BB in its draft guideline said the agent banking meant providing banking services to the bank customers through the engaged agents under a valid agency agreement, rather than a teller or a cashier.
It is the owner of an outlet who conducts banking transactions on behalf of the concerned bank.
The BB has decided to promote this complimentary channel to reach to the poor segment of the society with a range of financial services in bid to spur its ongoing financial inclusion, said the draft which was made public on Monday for taking opinions.
Non-government organisations or microfinance institutions regulated by the Microcredit Regulatory Authority of Bangladesh may play as an agent of a bank, the BB draft guideline said.
According to the draft guideline, cooperative societies formed and controlled or supervised under Cooperative Society Act, 2001, post offices, companies registered under Bangladesh Company Act, agents of mobile network operators, offices of rural and urban local government institutions like UISC, educated individuals capable to handle IT-based financial services, agents of insurance companies, owner of pharmacy, chain grocery shops and petrol pumps, and gas stations may be doing as an agent bank.
An agent bank may collect small value cash deposit and cash withdrawal (ceiling should be determined by the bank), disburse inward foreign remittance, facilitate small value loan disbursement and recovery of loans, instalments, facilitate utility bills payment and cash payment under social safety net programme of the government.
The clients may also get facilities of fund transfer, balance inquiry, generation and issuance of mini bank statements through an agent bank.
The guideline said an agent bank would not be allowed to open bank accounts, issue bank cards and cheques, conduct money changing activities and cash cheques.
Customers will not be charged directly by the agents for the services and banks will pay reasonable fee and commission to their agents, the guideline said.
It, however, said the banks might charge commission and fee as applicable to its customers.
An agent can act as an agent of more than one bank at a time but at the customer end a retail outlet or sub agent of an agent will represent for and offer banking services of only a bank, the BB guideline said.
According to the guideline, the banks will assign one of its branches to be responsible for the agent operating in the designated area of the branch.
The agents will to be equipped with IT device like point of sale (POS), card reader, mobile phone, barcode scanner to scan bills for bill payment transactions, personal identification number (PIN) pads and may have personal computers that are to be connected with their bank’s server using a personal dialup or other data connections, it said.
Without having approval from the BB, no bank will be allowed to introduce the agent banking.
Banks will have to submit copies of agreement signed between them and their agents to the BB before launching the product.
The banks must formulate internal audit policy to monitor and control the agents and they should visit the agents’ outlet offices at a regular interval to ensure that the agents follow guidelines on agent banking.