Making schoolgoers financially literate
Bangladesh Bank initiated the school banking programme in 2010 for students to help them understand the importance of saving, develop a saving habit and start getting financially literate from an early age. But school banking in Bangladesh goes further back than that. Some private banks had earlier taken initiatives to establish the practice amongst students, albeit without much success. Finally, it got renewed impetus when the central bank issued the formal circular.
Accordingly, Bangladesh Bank instructed all scheduled banks to open this financial inclusion policy in schools. The scheme aims to instil the habit of saving into students and make them more skilled with money management. Through the programme, students can get a hands-on, simplified banking experience from school. Any student aged between 11 and 17 years can open an account with banks supporting the service. There are also a few advantages, such as the waiving of fees and charges, free internet banking, lowered minimum balance requirement, debit card availability at lower costs, etc.
School banking is also gaining popularity across the country, according to reports that showed that deposits crossed Tk 1,500 crore at the end of last year. Guardians should encourage their children to avail themselves of this option for their own convenience and better financial planning.
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