Digitizing Payments Can Add $6.2 Billion to Bangladesh’s Annual GDP

Digital payments can boost Bangladesh’s annual GDP by 1.7 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance and its member, the Government of Bangladesh’s flagship program Aspire to Innovate (a2i). This means adding $6.2 billion annually to the economy.

Of this, 53 percent will come from digitizing just 30 percent of micro-merchant transactions in the retail sector; 45 percent from digitizing credit disbursements in the agricultural sector; and the remaining from scaling digital wages in the informal ready-made garments (RMG) sector. Responsible payments digitization in these sectors, crucially prioritizing women, will help accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.