Syed Mahbubur Rahman, centre, managing director of Brac Bank, and Taskin Ahmed, second from right, a national cricketer and the bank's brand ambassador, launch Smart Opener service of the bank at a programme in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: Brac Bank

Opening a bank account was not so easy even a few years ago. But with the advancement of technology and the central bank's emphasis on financial inclusion, the scenario is fast changing in favour of the customers.

Clients will not need to visit the bank branches to open accounts anymore as Brac Bank's Smart Opener will provide this service at home.

Brac Bank employees will visit customers' homes or offices to open accounts.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Brac Bank, and Taskin Ahmed, a national cricketer and the bank's brand ambassador, launched the service at a programme in Dhaka yesterday.

Equipped with tablets, bank employees will take customers' photographs and necessary documents to open accounts and complete other regulatory requirements.

Individuals can set appointments for the service by calling Brac Bank's 24-hour call centre at 16221, by typing 'SO' and sending an SMS to 16221 or by emailing smart.opener@bracbank.com.

The service will initially be available in Dhaka City Corporation areas, and it will be expanded to other regions of the country, said Rahman. 

he bank also launched a mobile application for banking services yesterday.

With Brac Bank Mobile, customers can access banking services from their smartphones anytime.

The app allows customers to carry out transactions such as fund transfers, bill payments, mobile top-ups, credit card bill payments and also view account information, and both mini and detailed statements.

Rahman said Brac Bank Mobile is fully secure as per Bangladesh Bank's instructions.

Both the initiatives were taken to bring more people under the financial system using the latest technologies, Rahman said. “The bank will continue to bring in more IT-enabled and innovative services for the comfort and convenience of customers.”  The bank has more than 1.7 million customers and it is the largest SME financier in Bangladesh.

Firoz Ahmed Khan, head of retail banking, Zara Jabeen Mahbub, head of communication and service quality, and Mosleh Saad Mahmud, head of customer experience and retail products, were also present at the launching ceremony at the bank's head office.

Despite a number of steps aimed at financial inclusion in Bangladesh, only 31 percent of Bangladesh's adults have bank accounts, according to World Bank data of 2014.

The rate is higher than the average of the low-income countries, standing at 27.5 percent, but lower than the South Asian average of 46.4 percent.