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Project Report

On

Mobile Banking in Bangladesh, a Comparative Study On bkash And Ucash

Submitted to:
Mrs. Arzoo Ismai
Lecturer
School of Business ,ULAB

Submitted by:
Imam Hasan
ID-101011115

School of Business
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
2015

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Letter of Transmittal

October 3, 2015
Mrs. Arzoo Ismai
Supervisor
ULAB School of Business
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.

Subject: Submission of Project Report

Dear Madame,
I have completed this as part of my BBA program .The report has been complied as per your
requirements and those set by the host organization. It gives me the huge pleasure to tell you that
working on this Project report has given me a wide range of experience.
The report is based on the knowledge, experience and the skills that I have acquired during my
period of working on Mobile Banking of Bangladesh a comparative study of bKash and UCash.
I am, therefore, submitting this report with the hope that it lives up to your satisfaction.
However, I would be glad if you inform me with your thoughts and views regarding the report.
In addition, if you wish to enquire about any of the aspect of the report, I would be glad to
answer your question.

Sincerely
Imam Hasan
ID-101011115
ULAB School of Business
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh

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Internship/Project Report Approval Form
Student Name _________________________________________________

IDNo.__________________

Major:

______________________________________________Year:_____________________________

Local Phone:__________________________

E-mail:__________________________________________

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INTERNSHIP/PROJECTINFORMATION

Internship Organization/Project:___________________________________________________________

Internship /Project Report Topic: __________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Semester (Tick one): □ spring 2015 □ summer 2015 □ Fall 2015


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SUPERVISOR APPROVAL
(Please place a Tick)

□ Approved □ Not Approved □ Partial Re-write □ Full Re-write


Remarks (if Not Approved/Pretrial/Full Rewrite): ____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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Signature: _______________________________________ Date: ___________________________

Name: __________________________________________ Title:____________________________

E-mail: __________________________________________ Phone: __________________________

Acknowledgement

First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty Allah for blessing me with the strength, ability
and patience for successfully completing my report.
I would like to thank my faculty Advisor Mrs. Arzoo Ismai for giving me the opportunity to
work with him during my period of internship. I have been able to assemble and complete this
report in a comprehensive manner due to the guidance, support and counseling that he has
provide me with during this period. I have tried my best to implement his helpful Suggestion
while doing my report.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the help provided to me by some
personals of the company. My sincere thanks goes to senior Executive of sales and marketing of
Bkash for giving me time busy schedule, providing me with information that was required to
complete the report, and for guiding me properly. I would also like to thank all the agents of
bKash and UCash who have supported me and co-operated with me during my Project period.

Finally, my sincere thanks go to each and every one who has helped and supported me
significantly during the period of my Project

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Plagiarism Declaration

1. I know that plagiarism means taking and using the ideas, writings, works or inventions of
another as if they were one’s own. I know that plagiarism not only includes verbatim copying,
but also the extensive use of another person’s ideas without proper acknowledgement (which
includes the proper use of quotation marks). I know that plagiarism covers this sort of use of
material found in textual sources and from the Internet.

2. I acknowledge and understand that plagiarism is wrong.

3. I understand that my research must be accurately referenced.

4. This assignment is my own work, or my group’s own unique group assignment. I acknowledge
that copying someone else’s assignment, or part of it, is wrong, and that submitting identical
work to others constitutes a form of plagiarism.

5. I have not allowed, nor will I in the future allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of
passing it off as their own work.

Imam Hasan
ID-101011115

Signature _____________________________ Date: 03-10-2015

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Abstract

The report consists of five chapters along with the references where I have tried to explain about
the practical experiences that I got particularly from the questionnaire and personally observing
the stores and face to face conversation with the customers. .

In chapter two, the report describes the theoretical back round of mobile banking of Bangladesh.
It also upholds the process how mobile banking works and it also put information on the
previous works on mobile banking.

Chapter three is about bKash and Ucash here the theoretical aspect of Ucash and bKash mobile
banking, its history, mobile banking opening process and products and services offered by the
companies are drawn up one by one.

In chapter four, the overall scenario in Bangladesh and the comparison between bKash and
UCash is made by presenting pie chart interpretation. The analysis was made on the data
collected from the respondents of UCash and bKash.

In the end many recommendation to the Lacking bKash and UCash was also framed nicely
according to my empirical knowledge, which has really enhanced my knowledge

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Table of Contents

Particulars Page No.


Letter of Transmittal II
Internship/Project Report Approval Form III
Acknowledgement IV
Internship/Project Report Approval Form V
Acknowledgement VI
Plagiarism Declaration VII
Abstract VIII
Table IX-X

Chapter -1 Introduction 1-2


1.2 Background of The Study 2
1.3 Rationale of The Study 3
1.4 Objective of The Study 3

1.5 Methodology of The Study 4-5


Type of Research
Sampling
Data Collection
1.6 Limitation of the Study 6

Chapter two: Theoretical Background


2.1. The Concept Of Mobile Banking 7-8
2.2. How Mobile Banking Works 8-11

Chapter three: Organizational Profile


3.1. About bkash 13
3.2 Products of bKash 14
3.3. About Ucash 15

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3.4. Account Opening Process 16
3.5. Products of Ucash 17-19

Chapter Four: Mobile Banking In Bangladesh and Analysis


4.1. Mobile Banking in Bangladesh 21
4.2. Competing Companies in the Market 22
4.3. Market Share of Major Players 23
4.1. Prospects Mobile Banking in Bangladesh 24-27
4.5 Analysis 28-35
4.6 Findings 36
Chapter five: Recommendations and conclusions 37-39
References
Questionnaires

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Chapter I
Introduction

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1.1 Introduction

With the time going by, information and communication technology has
continuously been influencing the banking industry .Banks and other
financial institutions have improved their functions as a financial
intermediary through adapting various information technologies. Generally
when the information technologies combine with functions of banks and
financial institutions, it is called electronic banking. After internet banking, pc
banking and tele-banking, E-banking results in mobile banking. This latest
banking service offers banking institutions a new frontier of opportunities
and challenges further augmenting competition in the national as well as
global banking market.

Keeping abreast of the modern banking system in the world, banks in Bangladesh are also
adopting E-banking and the latest outcome of e-banking is the mobile banking. Mobile banking
is now becoming popular in Bangladesh with increase of mobile phone users. The facilities and
the ease of mobile banking entice people to mobile banking enormously. Considering this, more
and more banks are adopting this mobile banking system to remain customer centric and to
compete in the market. Though many banks have started mobile banking service, Brac Bank
Limited (Bkash) has been most outstanding and popular in this particular area. United
commercial banks under the name of Ucash also starts taking up this banking system.

The fact that it requires rapid modification and adaptation to keep harmony
with the world economy business has been revealed by the survey of current
banking system in Bangladesh. It becomes more obvious by observing the
increased number of customers in some modern banks while others are
losing them. In the context of Bangladesh, a country of more than 150
million people, it is to be realized that there is no other option for us than to
join the current trend. Otherwise it is almost impossible to bring any sort of
fruitful achievement for the country.

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However, at present, people are very often scared of doing any banking
function with most of the bank of Bangladesh. For, they still follow the
traditional paper-based system. It, then, becomes cumbersome to perform
even a simple financial service such as account checking. Therefore, the
existing banking system in our country is awkward, slow and error-prone. It,
in one hand, fails to meet the customers’ demand and, on the other hand, it
causes some significant losses both for the banking authority and traders.
Electronic banking, on the other hand, solves the above problems.
Furthermore, it opens up some other salient aspects such as increased
foreign trade and foreign investment.

In order to cope with the changing technology Brac Bank Limited under the
name of Bkash and United Commercial Bank Limited under the name of
Ucash pursuit mobile banking services to hold up their position in the
national and global competitive world providing better services that
customers expect being a man in the twenty first century.

1.2 Background of the Study


1.3 Introduction

Mobile Banking was first introduced in Bangladesh in the year of 2011. Dutch-Bangla Bank
Limited (DBBL) launched mobile banking officially in the mid of the year 2011. Then many
other banks came forward to launch individual Mobile Banking system. BBL in the name of
Bkash and UCBL under name of Ucash also adopted this new banking system to cope with the
other institutes and to enhance value for the customers.

This report is on “The Mobile Banking, focusing on Bkash and Ucash’ in which I have to
prepare to fulfill the requirement to be a graduate. The task is supervised by the academic
supervisor Mrs Arzoo Ismai . I have been working with this project report to give a fabulous
report presentation for three months period. While working with this important and interesting

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topic, I have opportunity to learn vastly about mobile banking in Bangladesh, Bkash and Ucash
functions in this field. I also come across by the problems and prospects of this particular area.

1.3Rationale of the Study


1.4 Introduction

Every student prior to finishing the Bachelor program from business faculty is bound to submit
either a project report or an internship report. In case of me, submitting the project report on
mobile banking will benefit me by enhancing my academic knowledge as well as practical
knowledge on mobile banking. This particular report is also conducive to broadening the
professionalism of student towards shaping a brightening career in the competitive world out
there.

1.4 Objectives

In this section the report is divided into two parts – Broad objective and Specific objective.

 To find out the relevance and application of theoretical knowledge in practical life.
 To explain the present scenario of mobile banking.
 To find out the position of Bkash and Ucash.
 To bring out the comparative analysis on Bkash and Ucash.
 To recommend on the findings.

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However, during this period of my making the report, I tried to get familiarize myself with the
theoretical concept and practical Know-how of the mobile banking. It also teaches me about
bkash and Ucash functioning of mobile banking. This study helps me earn the knowledge about
the industry as well as the functioning of bkash and Ucash in the. This pedagogue of this report
also teaches me to find the realistic view of real market of mobile banking scenario of
Bangladesh.

1.5 Methodology

This report has been complete by taking data from different relevant sources. Some data have
been taken by interviewing with the company agents and users of both companies and browsing
websites on internet, studying blogs and articles. Therefore, this report consists of significant
amount of data obtained from both primary and secondary sources

Type of Research

This is a descriptive type of research that’s why I would mainly take an analytical approach on
my report. A survey is used to collect original data for describing a population too large to
observe directly (Mouton 1996:232). A survey obtains information from a sample of people by
means of self-report, that is, the people respond to a series of questions posed by the investigator
(Polit and Hungler 1993:148). In this study the information was collected through self-
administered questionnaires distributed personally to the subjects by the researcher both primary
and secondary sources have been used for data collection. No hypothesis is undertaken in the
methodology.

Sampling design
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In order to collect data on mobile banking from bkash and Ucash users, sample was selected
from Dhaka district only. The media by which the respondents were approached was personal
interview. The method to be used for sampling was non- probability sampling method. The
sample size was 30 users of Ucash and 30 users of bKash.

Data collection Source

Secondary data: Such types of data were collected through several journals on mobile banking.
For the secondary data, I have used the company web site, blogs and articles. I have also taken
information from various reports which were provided to me by the officials of bkash and Ucash;
I have taken some information from the internet as well.

Primary data: Primary data are root level data and are collected without correction. These data
were collected by-

 By Face to face conversation with customer as well agents ,


 By observing the agent shop in person ,
 By questionnaire.

1.6 Limitation of the Study


1.3 Problem Statement

While conducting this thesis report, I found some obstacles which created some limitations for
me. The major limitations of this study are-

 As UCash is very new in mobile banking sufficient articles, journals records, publications
were not available.
 Non-cooperative behavior of some agents of the shops as well as questionnaire
respondents.
 Up to date data are not available on every aspect of the report.
 Lack of opportunity to get help from required personnel.
 Customers are not free to provide an interview for a long time.

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Chapter II
Theoretical Background

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2.1Concept of Mobile Banking
Introduction

Mobile Banking basically means a financial transaction conducted by logging on to a bank's


website using a cell phone, such as viewing account balances, making transfers between
accounts, or paying bills. It is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions,
payments etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. In recent time Mobile banking is most
often performed via SMS or the Mobile Internet but can also use special programs called clients
downloaded to the mobile device.

Mobile Banking Services: Mobile banking can offer services such as the following:

 Mini-statements and checking of account history


 Alerts on account activity or passing of set thresholds
 Monitoring of term deposits
 Access to loan statements
 Access to card statements
 Mutual funds / equity statements
 Insurance policy management
 Pension plan management

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 Status on cheque, stop payment on cheque,
 Ordering check books
 Balance checking in the account
 Recent transactions
 Due date of payment (functionality for stop, change and deleting of payments)
 PIN provision, Change of PIN and reminder over the Internet
 Blocking of (lost, stolen) cards
 Domestic and international fund transfers
 Micro-payment handling
 Mobile recharging
 Commercial payment processing
 Bill payment processing
 Peer to Peer payments
 Withdrawal at banking agent
 Deposit at banking agent

2.2 How the System Works


Applications of Bkash:

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Figure-1 The process of how mobile banking works

According to the study titled “Customer’s Perceived Value to Use Mobile Banking Services”
conducted by Layla Alsheikh and Jamil Bojei-

New innovations are taking into account the growing demand for mobile applications; this has
been the case for financial services providers around the world. Financial institutions have been
creating novel products and services that are founded on the platform of mobile application is
known as mobile banking service (also known as M-banking, SMS banking, m-banking, etc).

The M-banking service is among the recent innovations that use the mobile devices such as
smart phone, cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) in banking service. The concept of
mobile banking is relatively new and not yet recognized at the customer side in most parts of the
world, which would explain part of the problem leading to a sluggish rate of customer adoption
and usage.

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According to the Mental Accounting Theory developed by Thaler, a model was proposed
regarding the customers’ perceived value of mobile banking. The model is given here-

Figure-2 Benefit Factors of Mobile Banking


Customers are highly interested in the benefits that a service would offer them once it is used. In
essence, the customer seeks to establish the value that the service will add in his or her life
before making the decision to adopt. Accordingly, the service must be able to satisfy the needs of
the customer and provide benefits that make the service worth to adopt. This study addresses the
benefit factors that mobile banking customers look out for performance expected and level of
effort required. Performance expectancy denotes the degree to which customer believes that
using the system will likely to improve his or her job performance. Customers basically have
high expectations whenever they undertake a particular service to satisfy their needs. They
expect that the service will guarantee value for their money and that it will perform in
accordance to their expectations. Information System adoption research proposes that “a system
that does not help people perform their jobs is not likely to be received favorably”. In the context

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of the mobile banking services usage, performance expectancy can be defined as the degree to
which the mobile banking could extend benefits to individuals in their banking activities.

Mobile banking is an application of m-commerce which enables customers to access bank


accounts through mobile devices to conduct and complete bank-related transactions such as
balancing cheques, checking account statuses, transferring money and selling stocks (Kim et al.
2009). Luo et.al (2010), defined mobile banking as an innovative method for accessing banking
services via a channel whereby the customer interacts with a bank using a mobile device. In
earlier studies in this regard have provided different results as Wu and Wang (2005), in a study
on middle class populations, found that cost had minimal significant impact on the adoption of
mobile banking while perceived risk, compatibility and perceived usefulness have significant
influences. On the other hand Karnani (2009) argues that cost plays important role in choosing
mobile banking.

Though much of literatures are not found related to mobile banking in Bangladesh, this paper is
an endeavor to mitigate the research gap in this regard. Thus on the basis of the above literatures
the paper aims at identifying the factors influencing the usage of Mobile Banking in Bangladesh.

For the past two decades, the banking sector has chosen a new service channel based on the
progress of information technology – internet to respond to the changes in customer preferences
and needs, increasing competition from non-banks, changes in demographic and social trends,
and government deregulations of the financial service sector (Byers and Lederer, 2001). In the
search for sustainable competitive advantages in the technological financial service industry,
banks have acknowledged the value to differentiate themselves from other financial institutions
through new service distribution channels (Daniel, 1999). In addition, customer’s transaction and
communication abilities have been improved by the developments of information technology.
Information technology enabled electronic channels to perform many banking functions that
would traditionally be carried out over the counter (Giannakoudi, 1999). The rise of electronic
payments media such as debit and credit cards has caused the value of paid in the USA to fall to
– from about $49 billion in 1995 to about $42 billion in 2002 (Gerdes and Walton, 2002). The
use of paper cheques has been supplemented step-by-step with e-cheques (i.e., electronic images)

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allowing banks to have more storage capacity, reduce costs and improve furthermore customer
services (Rose and Hudgins, 2005).

A more recent e-banking development is wireless internet applications of banking sometimes


called m-banking (mobile banking) (Choi et al., 2006; Scornavacca and Hoehle, 2007). With
the combination of two most recent technological advancements – internet and mobile phone, a
new service (mobile data service) is thus enabled and the first such wireless internet commercial
transaction is performed by the banking industry (Barnes and Corbitt, 2003). It is believed that
m-banking will provide another new channel for banking services, especially for certain remote
areas where online internet is still unavailable. Strategic implications and customer perception of
m-banking services are explored (Laukkanen and Lauronen, 2005) with a focus on the
consumer value creation and a better understanding about the customer-perceived value of m-
banking services. For instance, mobile internet service has been quite popular in Japan (over 60
million users in 2003) especially for those young and single (i.e., unmarried) consumers
(Scornavacca and Barnes, 2004).

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Chapter III
Organizational Profile

3.1. About bkash

bKash Limited, a subsidiary of BRAC Bank, is a joint venture between BRAC Bank Limited,
Bangladesh, and Money in Motion LLC, USA. Brac Bank is one of the most renowned banks in

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Bangladesh and Money in Motion LLC is a used based financial institution. Since then the
emergence of mobile banking in 2011 by DBBL, many banks have initiated this service but
bkash has been outstanding with its 80,000 agents across the country and 10 million users
currently. The ultimate objective of bKash is to ensure access to a broader range of financial
services for the people of Bangladesh. It has a special focus to serve the low income masses of
the country to achieve broader financial inclusion by providing services that are convenient,
affordable and reliable. More than 70% of the population of Bangladesh lives in rural areas
where access to formal financial services is difficult. Yet these are the people who are in most
need of such services, either for receiving funds from loved ones in distant locations, or to access
financial tools to improve their economic condition. Less than 15% of Bangladeshis are
connected to the formal banking system whereas over 50% has mobile phones. These phones are
not merely devices for talking, but can be used for more useful and sophisticated processing
tasks. Considering all these difficulties felt by this particular group of people, bKash was
conceived primarily to utilize these mobile devices and the omnipresent telecom networks to
extend financial services in a secure manner to the under-served remote population of
Bangladesh.

Mission

With outstanding financial services, convenient, affordable and reliable, bKash aims to widen
the net of financial inclusion.

It also desires to provide a solution for Mobile Financial Services, built on a highly scalable
Mobile Money platform, allowing the people of Bangladesh to safely send and receive money via
mobile devices.

3.2. Products of bkash

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Currently bkash is giving the consumers a broad range of services in the country, recently Buy
Air Time service has been added to recharge mobile from this service without going to recharge
points. The services of bkash are –

 Buy Airtime
 Cash In
 Cash Out
 Send Money
 Payment

Transaction Limit

Table -1 The Transaction Limit bkash

3.3. About UCash


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Bangladesh has garnered attention as one of the most favored destination for investment and
economic growth across the world. A good number of economic and financial publications have
stated that the immense potential of Bangladesh, given the highly adaptive, low-cost and
educated workforce the country is blessed with, to offer. Numerous reputed foreign companies
have already set up operations in Bangladesh, letting employment and livelihood into the eligible
workforce. Millions of people across the country are now contributing to the overall
development and economic growth of Bangladesh. Given the enormous financial contribution to
the economy of Bangladesh, it is difficult to comprehend the fact that most of the workforce does
not have access to banking or financial services. A recent study has shown that less than 20% of
the adult population of the country has access to banking services.

With a motive to provide ubiquitous banking and financial service to the masses of the unbanked
population of the country, United Commercial Bank (UCB) launched its very own Mobile
Financial Service, UCash. UCB, one of the leading private banks in the country, has been
providing banking service for over 30 years. Having more than 30 years of experience in the
banking sector, UCB understands that banking services are not just limited money transfer
services. Savings account, deposit schemes, bill payment, credit and loan facilities, salary and
payroll services are also part of banking services. Ucash under the aegis of UCBL is now
competing with bkash in the mobile banking industry with numerous promotions and strategies.
Accordingly, it has become the first Mobile Financial Service provider to offer daily interest
on customer’s deposit in their account. It is the first Mobile Financial Service provider to offer
daily interest on customer’s deposit in their account. UCash is planning to enhance its service
portfolio to offer new and innovative services to its customers in the coming months. The
customers can expect a plenty of banking and financial services through UCash. UCB is
committed to extending banking services to the unbanked population of the country.

It is a social responsibility towards the nation to fuel financial inclusion in the economy.
As Bangladesh is a land of potential, hopes, dreams and progress, it has the potential to become
one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Our present generation is geared up to offer a
brighter future to the next generation. The people of Bangladesh need financial stability to

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achieve its true potential, all of which can be achieved by providing banking and financial
services to the masses. United Commercial Bank and UCash aims to unlock the true potential of
Bangladesh.

Mission

To let “financial inclusion” and that banking facilities should be accessible to all.

To provide banking facilities to the vast majority of unbanked population of the country.

To familiarize banking facilities to those who previously were not able to access banking
services.

3.4. Account Opening Process

In order to start mobile banking journey with Ucash, one needs to follow a procedure which is
following -

At first the person has to visit his nearest UCash agent with the following documents

 The mobile phone


 A copy of his or her Photo ID (either National ID, Passport or Driving License)
 2 copies of Passport sized photographs

Then the person is to fill up the Customer Application Form. While filling out the form, the
person needs to remember the followings

 put his or her thumb print and signature correctly


 provide all information accurately
 retain a copy of the form (Customer Copy) from the UCash Agent for future reference

After opening an account, the person can access the UCash Menu from his or her phone through
the following:

 Dial *268# from phone

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 Enter “787878” as his or her PIN. This is his or her default PIN and no activity or
transaction can be completed without changing the default PIN
 To ensure security of your UCash account, change the PIN after accessing the menu.

 You can deposit money into your account immediately after opening your account.

 After verification of the form and submitted documents, he or she will be able to transfer
money, make payments and use the full range of UCash services available.

Verification of new account can take up to 7 working days, during which time he or she can only
deposit money into your account.

3.5. Products of Ucash

Ucash has three products currently. They are now giving the customers cash in, cash out and P2P
facilities. They are optimistic to extend their product range soon.

Cash In

To cash money into the Ucash Account, the account holder needs to follow the steps -

 He or she needs to go to any nearest Ucash Agent.


 Then let the agent know the amount the account holder wants to Cash In.
 Then the account holder will write down the Ucash Account Number and the Cash In
amount in Agent Register.
 Then he or she will pay the amount of money the account holder wants to Cash In.
 In exchange, the agent will send balance to the account holder’s bKash Account.
The account holder and the Agent both will get confirmation message from Ucash. The account
holder must remember to put his or her signature in the Agent Register before leaving the
counter. The cash in limit is following –

Particulars Limit

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Minimum Cash In Amount BDT 10
Maximum Daily Cash In Amount BDT 25,000
Maximum Daily No. Of Transactions 5 times
Maximum Monthly Cash In Amount BDT 150,000
Maximum Monthly No. Of Transactions 20 times
Table -1 The Transaction Limit of UCash Cash In

Cash Out
In order to withdraw any amount from the mobile bank account balance, the person can visit his
or her nearest agent to “Cash Out”. A service charge of 1.85% of the transaction amount or BDT
5 (whichever is higher) is applicable, which will be charged to his or her account balance
automatically.

 Need to go to any bKash Agent.

 Let the agent know the amount the account holder want to Cash Out

 Then he or she will write down the bKash Account Number and the amount in Agent
Register.

 Will dial *268# from phone on the account holder’s mobile for Ucash Mobile Menu

 Choose “Cash Out”

 Enter Agent’s Ucash Account Number (ask the agent)

 Enter the amount

 Enter the account holder’s Ucash Mobile Menu PIN

Following is the limit for cash out

Particulars Limit
Minimum Cash Out Amount BDT 10

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Maximum Daily Cash Out Amount BDT 25,000
Maximum Daily No. Of Transactions 3 times
Maximum Monthly Cash Out Amount BDT 150,000
Maximum Monthly No. Of Transactions 10 times
Table -3 Transaction Limit Cash out Ucash

P2P (person to Person)

If any Ucash account holder wants to send money to another UCash account holder, he or she
can send money directly from his or her r own mobile bank account to the receiver’s account.
A service charge of BDT 5 is applicable for any P2P transaction.

The process of making P2P service is following-

 At first , he or she goes to Ucash Mobile Menu by dialing *2687#


 Then he or she is to choose “P2P”
 Then enter the Ucash Account Number that the account holder wants to send money to
 Then enter the amount the account holder wants to send.
 Enter a reference about the transaction. (Do not use more than one word, avoid space or
special characters)
 Now enter the account holder’s Ucash Mobile Menu PIN to confirm the transaction

The account holder and the Receiver both will receive confirmation message from Ucash. The
limit of P2P is following-

Particulars Limit
Minimum P2P Amount BDT 10
Maximum Daily P2P Amount BDT 10,000
Maximum Monthly P2P Amount BDT 25,000
Table -4 transaction Limit Ucash P2P

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Chapter IV
Mobile Banking in Bangladesh
&
Analysis

4.1. Mobile Banking in Bangladesh

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With the development of technology and telecommunication, the banking sector is also racing to
get the best benefit out of using the improved technological development. Recently mobile
banking is the latest addition to the banking sector of Bangladesh. Mobile banking came in
effect on 2010. The emergence of mobile banking took place on March 11, 2011 by Dutch –
Bangla Bank. This particular bank brought mobile banking in public at the cost of fifty tk. In the
account as initial money. Then Brac Bank, Islami Bank, United Commercials banks and many
other commercial and public banks initiated the service gradually with much promotion. Every
bank prior to the initiation of the mobile banking needs to follow the guideline provided by the
Bangladesh Bank and they also need to follow the ICT guidelines. Bangladesh Bank considering
the enlightening prospect of mobile banking made a pilot study on it and set that guideline for
the greater benefit of general people and financial institutions. The Bank has permitted 28 banks
to start mobile banking in the country. In the market around twenty banks, following the
guidelines by Bangladesh Bank, are doing the mobile banking for the betterment of life of low
income people primarily. Some banks that have permission to do mobile banking are yet to
emerge in the market. To get best out of this new MFS , many banks focus on many aspect as
their positioning strategy. Though Dutch-Bangla Bank was the pioneer bank in launching this
service, they did not position in the market so successfully .But, now bkash, a subsidiary of
Brac Bank has been dominant in the market with more than 85 thousand agents in the market and
8million accounts. Actually they positioned in the market by stagger advertising and availability.
Ucash, the name of mobile banking of United Commercial Bank, also trying to position by
paying daily interest on deposited money and other offers. Mcash, a concern of IBBL, has also
positioned in the market by maintaining more security. Above all, mobile banking is becoming
popular in the market and every bank is also endeavoring to position in the mind of consumers
by different positioning strategy.

4.2. Competing Companies in the Market

22
SL Bank Name Product Link
Name
1. Duch-Bangla Mobile-  http://www.dutchbanglabank.com/electronic_banking/mobil
Bank Banking e_banking.html
Limited.
2. BRAC Bank bKash  http://www.bkash.com/
Limited.
3. United UCash  http://www.ucash.com.bd/?page=about_us
commercial
bank
4. Islami Bank mCash  http://mcash.islamibankbd.com/
Bangladesh
Limited.
5. Trust Bank Mobile  http://www.trustbank.com.bd/MobileMoney
Money
6. National  https://www.nccbank.com.bd/index.php/nccbsms_banking
Credit and
Commerce SureCash
Bank Limited
7. Bank Asia Mobile  http://www.bankasia-bd.com/home/mobile_banking
Limited. Banking
8. Dhaka Bank SMS  https://ibank.dhakabank.com.bd/window.asp?
Banking Page=SMSBanking.asp
9. Mercantile My cash  http://www.mblbd.com/home/mobile_banking
Bank
10. AB Bank SMS  http://www.abbl.com/sms-banking.html
Banking
11. South East SMS  http://www.southeastbank.com.bd/sms.php
Bank Banking
12. First Security SureCash  http://www.fsiblbd.com/mobile-banking-service.php
Islami Bank
13. Bangladesh SureCash  http://bcblbd.com/
Commerce
Bank
Table -5 List of Mobile Bank

FSP Subscribers
bkash 10350000
Dutch Bangl;a Bank 5796000
UCash 2898000

23
4.3. Market Share of Major Players

mcash 1242000
Others 414000

Subscribers
mcashOthers
6% 2%
UCash
14%

bkash
50%

Dutch Bangl;a Bank


28%

Figure -3 Market Share of Mobile Banks

Source - http://www.thedailystar.net/most-mobile-payment-agents-profitable-study-
49715

Today around ten mobile banking service providers are playing in the mabile banking narket .
Among them bkash becomes the market leader with 50% of the market share , Dutch bagla Bank
is standing second with 28% share , UCash with 12% stands in the third position and mcash and
others possess the remaining 8% market share. With more than 80000 agents and continuous
improvement of products and availability have made bkash market leader.

4.4. Prospects of Mobile Banking in Bangladesh


Guidelines on Mobile Banking by the Bangladesh
Themobile banking service has been able to bring revolution to life of the people of all strata
especially to the people of low income people. Mobile banking has now partnered with the all

24
major mobile operators. Mobile phone users are now availing of the new service of Buy Air
Time facility. Mobile banking with its aim at bringing continuous improvement to its operation
for the general people of the country has many positive implications. However, by interviewing
with the agents , face to face conversation with bkash and Ucash users and studying articles on
internet , the report discovers many prospects They are followings –

Speedy electronic Money Transfer

bKash and UCash is committed to spreading the net of financial inclusion among the people of
Bangladesh by facilitating money transfer through mobile phones. bKash and Ucash provide
mobile financial services allowing customers to send, receive, and pay money from their mobile
phones. bKash facilitates to send money to anyone by using an advanced technology available
on the account holder’s own mobile phone. The recipient would get money instantly, regardless
where s/he is.

Minimal effort and cost

By dint of bkash and Ucash account people will be sending and receiving money with minimal
effort and cost. bKash provides the highest benefit to its customers at an affordable cost,
enabling everyone to access the formal financial system of the economy.

Safe and secure system

With the blessing of bkash and Ucash account, there would not be any loss of money in the
account even if the account holder loses the mobile phone. Being protected by the account
holder’s very own PIN, every transaction is safe and secure. Besides state-of-the-art technology
provided by VISA ensures that the account holder r money is always safe and secure in our
system. The PIN is user’s personal identification number that she/he creates when he or she
registers for Ucash and bKash.  Each transaction they make, they need to authorize it by
entering their PIN. To ensure 100% safety of their own account, they are advised not to share
that PIN number. Furthermore, bKash places a high priority on protecting client’s information to
assure that the account holder’s transactions and data are secure with bKash. The security and
compliance practices are regularly audited to ensure that they meet the highest standards.

25
Anywhere anytime
bKash users enjoy increased convenience of accessing their finances from their own mobile
phones at anytime, anywhere. It gifts the users with the flexibility to perform transactions 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless time and place. No queues no waiting, anytime anywhere;
the most convenient way of transferring money. No matter where the account holders are ,
being on a bus, or a train, or on a launch, or wherever the account holder wants to be; as long as
the account holder has a bKash 

Revolution in Recharging mobile


Bkash helps the mobile phone users of Banglalink, Robi and Airtel to recharge through Buy Air
Time facility. They do not need to go to the recharge store anymore. It helps them to recharge
their mobile during emergency time. In addition it also preserves the privacy of the phone
numbers that they could not do before.

Quick international remittance

bKash users can now receive international remittance straight on their mobile phones. This very
system will immensely facilitate the remittance receivers all over the country as well as give
peace of mind to millions of remitters abroad. on-resident Bangladeshis in UAE and UK can
send international remittance through bKash from BRAC Bank designated exchange houses.
These include Al Rostamani International Exchange (ARIE), Al Ahalia Money Exchange
Bureau, and Orient Exchange in UAE, and very soon from BRAC Saajan in the UK too.
Remitters from other countries will also be able to avail of this facility soon. To send money
from overseas, the sender just needs to select bKash as the mode of termination; the receiver will
receive the fund directly in the bKash Account on his/her mobile phone. Standard bKash services
and charges will be applicable in Bangladesh.

ATM facility

Withdrawing money from ATM is another prospect, and convenient method for Ucash and
bKash users. The service is available on "bKash" marked BRAC Bank ATMs across the country,
which will provide fast, secure and dependable cash out services 24 hours a day. bKash, a
BRAC Bank subsidiary, aims to provide fast and convenient financial services to its customers
through mobile devices, with the ultimate goal of widening the net of financial inclusion.

26
Mobility in business

Bkash brings in more mobility in business. In case of purchasing products regardless the place
where the purchaser is they can easily pay the payment by bkash. Online shoppers can make
payment through bkask.

Boosting economy
 Draw credit into
banking system
 GDP growth
 Increase domestic
 Entrepreneurship
capital
 Jobs
 Increase depth of
private sector
companies
Figure 4 : Boosting Economy
Bkash and Ucash service is contributing much to the economy. It results in drawing credit into
the banking system, increasing domestic capital and the depth of private sector companies which
will ultimately enhance GDP growth, generate employments and encourage entrepreneurship.

Empowering poor class

Bkash with its 85 thousands agents and improved technology is now lessening the dependency of
low income people on others. A person with less education has now started adapting to bkash
mobile banking. a huge number of agents across the country and well designed marketing and
communication has educated them to this new system easily.

Improving lifestyle

Mobile living Digital Revolution Culture of immediacy

Smart boredom 24 hour society Cashless society

27
Bkash & UCash

Networked family Networked society Work- life tension Simple complexity

Figure: 5 Improving Lifestyle

The comparison between bkash and Ucash has been made from the feedback collected from the
questionnaire about bkash and Ucash. The feedback was collected from the users of bkash and
Ucash. With the help of graph chart, the data analysis has been quipped.

4.5. Comparative Analysis on bkash and UCash

The comparison between bkash and Ucash has been made from the feedback collected from the
questionnaire about bkash and Ucash. The feedback was collected from the users of bkash and
Ucash. With the help of graph chart, the data analysis has been quipped.

28
Do you think the account opening procedure of bkash./UCash is simple?

bkash Ucash
35 35
30 30
25 25
20 bkash 20 Ucash

15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
Yes No Yes No

Figure -6 Account Opening Procedure

Interpretation:

From the graphs, it is clearly evident that 100% of both bkash and Ucash account holders said
that the account opening process is same and it is hassle free. Only photographs and national ID
card or driving license or passport is needed to open the account which is same in both bkash and
Ucash.

Are you satisfied at the transaction limit?

29
bkash Ucash
30 20
18
25 16
20 14
bkash 12 Ucash
15 10
8
10 6
5 4
2
0 0
Yes No Yes No

Figure -7 Transaction Limit

Interpretation:

The graphs demonstrate that 90% of the respondents of bkash are satisfied at the transaction limit
where the dissatisfaction percentage is only 10 % they reasoned that they need to transact more
than 1, 50000 tk. but bKash has limit to 1,50000 tk daily and 2,50000 monthly which they want
to be enhanced . Daily. On the other hand in case of Ucash 40% of the users are not satisfied at
the transaction limit, they added that in case of case in and out and fund transfer the limit is short
to. But 60% respondents are satisfied. Therefore, Ucash needs to review the transaction limit.

Do you think the bKash charge is reasonable?

30
bkash Ucash
20 30
18
16 25
14 20
12 bkash Ucash
10 15
8
6 10
4 5
2
0 0
Yes No Yes No

Figure -8 Charge

Interpretation:
From the graph it is clearly viewed that 64% of the bkash users said the charge is very high .
They reasoned that they need to pay 18.50 or 20 tk. per thousand cash out which is very high and
85% of the Ucash users said that the charge is high . It costs almost same as bkash. Besides,
talking with a Ucash agent it is known that very soon they are going to charge 10tk per thousand
cash out. 15% of UCash users said they want cash out 5tk. per thousand as they need to do
transaction regularly .

bKash /UCash is available in your area ?

31
bkash Ucash
NO
17%

40%

60%

Yes
83%

Figure -9 Availability

Interpretation:

The graph shows that 83% of the bkash customers are satisfied at the availability of bkash and
17% of the customers said they are not satisfied at the bklash availability. On the other hand,
60% of the Ucash customers said that they are not satisfied at the Ucash availability and 40%
said they are satisfied. So, UCash needs more concentration on increasing the number of agents
across the country.

32
Ucash /bKash is Secure

bkash Ucash
Yes No Yes No

17%

33%

67%

83%

Figure -10 Security

Interpretation:

The graphs illustrate that 83% of the Ucash users said that Ucash is secure and they are satisfied
at it . Other percentages who don’t agree Other said that they feel fear of the PIN no. and being
cheated but in case of bkash only 67% said that bkash is secure. So, there is a concern about the
security issue of bkash besides some added that they heard about the news of bkash agent’s
money being stolen from account in newspaper. In addition, bkash account access requires PIN
first whereas bkash account access is easy but does not require any PIN at the beginning. This
really creates concern about the security issue of bkash.

33
bKash has Broader Products and service than Ucash?

bkash
Ucash
No
10% Yes No

43%
Yes 57%
90%

Figure -11 Product Ranges

Interpretation:
The chart illustrates that 90% of the bkash users said that they are satisfied at the product range.
Those who are not satisfied at product rage said that they want to do ticketing of Rail and
transportation and many events by bKash account. While 57% of the Ucash users said that they
are satisfied at the product range of Ucash. 43% who wanted the range to extend added that
Ucash still needs to come up with remittance, utility payment facilities in the market as these two
services are very crucial. Lifestyle products are not as important as remittance and utility
payment.

Cash In & Out and Mobile Recharging Influence Most bKash Users,

34
Cash In & Out and Send Money Influences Most Ucash Users

bKash Ucash
Cash in & out Send money Cash in & out Send money
Remittance Mobile recharging Lifestyle product Balance check

7% 13% 11%

13%

67%
89%

Figure -12 Attracting Factor

Interpretation:
From the graph it is evident that 67% of the bkash users said that they use bkash for cash in and
out services and 13% said they are influenced most by mobile recharging and remittance
services. On the other side, 89% of the Ucash users said that they use Ucash for cash in and out
and 11% said they are attracted most to P2P service.

35
The Customer Service of bKash and Ucash Is Satisfactory?

bkash Ucash
Yes No Yes No

17%
20%

83% 80%

Figure -13 Customer Service

Interpretation:
The pie chart illustrates that the percentage of both bkash and Ucash users in respect of customer
service is almost same as 83% of bkash and 80% of Ucash users said that they are satisfied at the
customer service. Only 20% of Ucash and 17% of bkash users said they find the customer
service needs to enhance. They added that for proper information about account, a bkash agent
sometime is found discouraging. Ucash as new is looking more customer friendly.

Findings
4.6. Findings

36
 Bkash is the Market leader in the mobile banking market with more than 10million
customers while UCash stands in the 3rd place with 24% of the market share.
 The account opening process of both bkash and UCash is not troublesome to the
customers though a small portion find it cumbersome.
 With the transaction limit bkasa is making customer satisfied but UCash needs to review
it as the limit is smaller than bklash , as there is transaction limit restricted by Bangladesh
Bank
 Bkash with more than 90thousands agents across the country is more available than
UCash
 The product rage of bkash is more than UCash . bkash has 6 product categories whereas
UCash has only cash in , cash out and P2P services currently.
 UCash offers lifestyle products like purchasing cricket tickets and DMP payment are very
beneficial to customers and easing of people’s standard of living.
 Cash in and out and mobile recharging influence bkash customer while cash in and out
influence UCash customers.
 The customer service of both bkash and Ucash is satisfactory as majority of the
customers said it.
 As regard secxurity bkash falls short of giving securitry because there are facts regarding
money losing in bkash whereas UCash tightens the security with attaching it to the bank
account.

37
Chapter V
Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1. Conclusion

38
With my interests in doing a project paper instead of internship, I have been opportunistic to
learn that many are doing their project papers in many topics but to me my topic was more
educative and interesting. Contrary to this prevailing trend to do report on sector which is not so
popular these days, rather your decision along with my interest to execute a project paper on
Mobile banking of bkash and Ucash was quite different. However, beginning my project paper
with little or rather no knowledge about the mobile industry of the country, I really did not know
what to expect from this tenure of working on problems and prospects of bkash and Ucash
industry. I really did not think that my experience with collecting data on the particular product
of bkash and Ucash would be so interesting and enriching. Despite working for a short period of
time this project, it was a good thing that I got an opportunity to dig out inputs on the fast food
industry –its market size, current competitors and functioning of existing companies, especially
prospects and comparative view of bkash and Ucash mobile banking. The close interaction with
my supervisor and exploring the kingdom of insights of mobile banking industry benefited me
as I was able to gain a lot of knowledge about the mobile banking industry by observing,
performing the tasks that I was assigned to and by working with the topic. This might not have
been possible unless I was t assigned an interesting topic from my supervisor. Overall, my
experience on doing my project with mobile banking was quiet enjoyable.

However, mobile banking is one of the newer but a promising industry of the country. There
poses a mammoth room for growth of this industry in Bangladesh in the coming future. As a
result, I feel that a lot of students can actually think of framing their career path with considering
the prospect of this industry. I would be glad to contribute as well if given a chance as this
industry not only promises to meet people’s need but also contribute to the overall development
of the country.

6.2. Recommendation
5.1. Conclusion 39
After anal sizing the graph, pie chart in the analysis part, the report seeks to recommend on some
issues for the future improvement. As the report finds some areas to be improved and changed.
The recommendations are following –

 bkash should review the account opening system, they should adjoin it to the bank
account so, that people feel more secure . bkash must make the agent to open a Brac bank
account prior to becoming a bkash agent so that , they need not bear cash .
 bkash should be more careful about the transaction of money through the unregistered
and non-personal number , the must enact stringent punishment in case of such
transaction by the agents.

 bkash needs to be careful about a good number of shops charging extra money for cash
out . They must enact a penalty for this extra charging which is disturbing users.

 bkash needs to review the cash out charge as other brands like Ucash and Mcash is on the
way to reduce the charge . Mcash already charging 15 tk. Per thousands.

 bkash should focus on how they can include Teletalk into their Buy Air Time product
because it really deprives millions to recharge in Teletalk SIM holders.

 bkash needs to focus on network as during the last Eids on every evening of the month ,
users suffered network problem.
 Ucash needs to focus more on products enhancement. Current they are not giving service
like utility payment and mobile recharging which are crucial in the market.

 Ucash needs to review their web site. They must put more details about their products
like cash in and cash out and other services like Ticketing, Internet bill payment.
Information about them are lacking in the web site.

40
 Ucash needs to add a media activities option in the web site from where people can know
the activities happened.

 Ucash should enhance their agents across the country as still customers are not finding
Ucash shops at arm’s length distance.

 Ucash should get involved in more outdoor advertising like billboards and pestering.
They also should get involved in CSR activities to get exposure

41
Appendix

References

42
 The Daily star , the story of bkash, accessed on August 20,2015 , available on
20http://www.thedailystar.net/mobile-financial-servive/the-story-of-bkash-21235
 The financial express , mobile banking , accessed on August 21, 2015, available on
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2013/12/04/7142
 Ucash , daily interest , accessed on July 22 , 2015 ,available onhttp://ucash.com.bd/?
page=daily_interest
 The Daily star, trust on mobile banking , accessed on July 22 , 2015 , available on
http://www.thedailystar.net/peoples-trust-on-mobile-banking-is-growing-gradually-atiur-
rahman-21239
 Ucash , company profile, accessed on July 23 , 2015 , available on http://www.ucbl.com/
 Ucash , accessed on July 27 , 2015 , available on http://ucash.com.bd/?page=cash_in
 Slideshare , accessed on July 25 , 2015 , available on
http://www.slideshare.net/MahfuzTushar/report-final-17236893
 Financial express, , accessed on September 15 , 2015 , available on
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/old/index.php?
ref=MjBfMDZfMDVfMTNfMV82XzE3MTc3Ng==
 Wikipedia, ecommerce , accessed on September 1 , 2015 , available on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce

43
(QUESTIONNAIRE):

A SURVEY ON

“MOBILE BANKING of Brac Bank Limited (Bkash) and United Commercial Bank limited (Ucash)

Name: _______________________________________________
Occupation: _______________ Contact No: _____________________

Ucash Bkash

1. Do you think the account opening procedure of bkash/UCash is simple?


Yes NO
2. Are you satisfied at the transaction limit?

Yes NO
3. Do you think the bKash/UCash charge is reasonable?

Yes NO

4. bKash /UCash is available in your area ?

Yes NO

5. Ucash /bKash is Secure?

Yes NO

44
6. bKash has Broader Products and service than Ucash?

Yes NO

7. What influences you most to UCash/ bKash?

a. Cash in & Cash out


b. payment
c. remittance
d. Mobile recharging

8. The Customer Service of bKash and Ucash Is Satisfactory?

Yes NO

45

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