BB gives initial approval to five digital banks

The central bank’s board of directors approved the LoIs at a meeting on Thursday

Bangladesh Bank has given initial approval to five proposed digital banks, paving the way for the issuance of Letters of Intent (LoIs) to the lenders.

The central bank’s board of directors approved the LoIs at a meeting on Thursday.

The five are DK Digital Bank, backed by Bhutan’s DK Bank; bKash Digital Bank, promoted by bKash shareholders; Nova Digital Bank, backed by Banglalink’s parent company VEON and Square Group; Boost Digital Bank, promoted by Robi’s parent company Axiata; and Kori Digital Bank, which had received initial approval earlier.

A total of 12 entities had applied for digital bank licences. They are British Bangla Digital Bank PLC, Digital Banking of Bhutan-DK, Amar Digital Bank-22MFI, 36 Digital Bank PLC, Boost-Robi, Amar Bank, App Bank-Farmers, Nova Digital Bank-Banglalink and Square, Moitri Digital Bank PLC, Upokari Digital Bank, Munafa Islami Digital Bank-Akij and bKash Digital Bank.

Bangladesh Bank had invited applications for digital bank licences from 1 September to 2 November 2025. The applications submitted during that period were subsequently evaluated, with the central bank now moving forward with the selected proposals

Under Bangladesh Bank’s digital banking guidelines, an LoI is issued to an applicant found eligible to establish a digital bank following evaluation.