Apparel workers’ deposits through no-frills accounts in several banks increased by over 10 percent to Tk2.04 billion in the last fiscal year.
A no-frills account is a bank account that can be opened with an initial deposit of Tk10/50/100 and maintained with a zero balance.
It offers zero or nominal charges and does away with the unnecessary services or frills in favor of various underprivileged people.
According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, in the no-frill accounts opened with Tk10, RMG workers deposited Tk2.04 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21, which was Tk1.85 billion in the previous year.
The number of Tk. 10 Accounts for the RMG workers grew by 1.3 to 0.5 million as of June 2021, which was 0.4 million in June 2020.
“The no-frill account allows me to run a bank account free of cost. I have opened an account and deposited money from my salary,” Sadia Akter, an apparel worker of IDS Group, who resides in Mirpur 13, told the Textile Today.
Keeping the money at home is risky and that is why I have opened the account and deposited the money. When I need money, I withdraw and use it, she added.
The number of Tk. 10 Accounts for the RMG workers grew by 1.3 to 0.5 million as of June 2021, which was 0.4 million in June 2020.
“The option of no-frill accounts for the RMG workers is a good initiative, which helps the workers to save money. It encourages workers to save money,” Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan told Textile Today.
On the other hand, workers’ income increased. Now, they can save more, which pushed the saving up, said Hassan.
It is mentionable that the use of Digital Financial Services has been increased significantly for the payment of salaries of RMG workers in the recent time that tends to decrease the use of bank accounts, said the Bangladesh Bank in its review on no-frills accounts.
The quarterly change of deposits in these accounts has shown positive growth of 16.78 percent and 10.01 percent over the previous quarter and the previous year respectively, said the central bank.
Here, the positive trend in both quarterly and yearly amounts of deposits reflects the recovery tendency from the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, it added.
