bKash and the digital finance revolution: a case study on financial inclusion in Bangladesh

Abstract

In 2010, a joint venture between Money in Motion in London and Bangladesh saw the creation of a subsidiary called bKash which is a subsidiary of BRAC Bank Limited. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and International Finance Corporation have also invested in it over the years. BKash has devoted itself to increasing financial inclusion since its founding by bringing more people under the formal financial services. In 2025, it will still be crucial to the realization of this objective, as it will reach millions of Bangladeshis in the cities and the countryside. Being an information-based financial service provider, bKash depends significantly on its information systems to ensure their smooth functioning (Finighan, 2025). As the company has millions of customers whose data and transactions are worth billions of taki every day, the company deals with large volumes of data and transactions. In order to handle this scale, an effective and dependable information system is fundamental in efficiency, security and accessibility. With its well-developed digital infrastructure, bKash has continued to be active and available to its users twenty-four hours a second (bKash, 2025).