No-frill account deposits rise 24% in Apr-Jun

Deposits in no-frill accounts (NFAs) increased 23.93 percent year-on-year to Tk 9,010 crore at the end of the April-June quarter of 2026, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

The total number of NFAs stood at 3.66 crore in the June quarter, an increase of 9.98 percent from the same period of the previous year.

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NFAs are low-cost accounts opened with initial deposits of Tk 10, Tk 50 or Tk 100 for low-income people, students aged up to 25, street children and working children.

Excluding student banking, street children and working children accounts, the number of Tk 10/50/100 accounts stood at 2.95 crore, with deposits of Tk 5,490.92 crore.

Accounts under social safety net programmes accounted for the largest share, at 36.78 percent, followed by farmers’ accounts at 36.33 percent.

NFAs also play an important role in distributing inward remittances. Cumulative remittances received through these accounts reached Tk 835.43 crore by June.

During the quarter, 7.87 lakh new student banking accounts were opened under Bangladesh Bank’s latest guidelines.

A total of 40,607 accounts for street children and working children were also maintained by 18 banks with support from 49 nongovernmental organisations.

Bangladesh Bank has taken various initiatives to ensure access to financial services for people from all segments of society. As part of these initiatives, the central bank has instructed banks to open accounts for marginalised people with initial deposits of Tk 10, Tk 50 or Tk 100.

These accounts require neither a minimum balance nor any service charge or fee. Relatively higher interest rates than those on existing savings accounts are offered on these accounts to support low-income people.

Generally known as no-frill accounts, NFAs target farmers, readymade garment workers, extremely poor people and beneficiaries of social safety net programmes, among others.

The accounts also include student banking accounts, which allow students aged up to 25 to open accounts with an initial deposit of Tk 100.

Up to the June 2026 quarter, the government had disbursed subsidies or salaries to 7,189,291 NFAs held by various groups of marginalised people.