City Bank transforming everyday banking for millions

Highlight:

• Citytouch has turned the phone into a universal service counter, handling millions of transactions every month.

Over the past decade, mobile banking has evolved and transformed the way Bangladeshis interact with money. What once required standing in long queues, signing forms, or traveling across town can now be accomplished in the palm of your hand. From paying utility bills to sending money to family, opening term deposits, or managing loans, mobile banking has made financial services accessible to everyone—students, freelancers, micro-entrepreneurs, and salaried executives alike. For many, the mobile banking app is no longer an optional convenience; it is the primary interface with their bank.

This transformation is underpinned by trust. Biometric logins, multi-factor authentication, and real-time notifications have made customers confident in digital channels. Today, mobile banking is not merely about convenience—it has become critical infrastructure for the modern economy, connecting households, businesses, and institutions in a unified digital ecosystem. Millions of Bangladeshis now rely on mobile banking to manage their daily financial lives.

At City Bank, our mobile app, Citytouch, exemplifies this shift. With over 900,000 regular users, Citytouch has become the main channel through which many customers experience the bank. On an average month, our digital platforms handle nearly 3 million transactions—three times the number processed at physical branches. Customers can pay bills, transfer funds, access account statements, download certificates, manage taxes, and even initiate card-free cash withdrawals—all in seconds. This convenience has reshaped the customer journey, with branches increasingly reserved for complex or exceptional needs.

Mobile banking also plays a key role in moving Bangladesh toward a cashless society. Although cash still dominates transactions—over 71% according to the Bangladesh Bank's Payment Systems Report—digital channels are gaining traction. Citytouch alone processes more than Tk400 crore daily, demonstrating that intuitive and reliable digital services are eagerly adopted by customers. Expanding mobile payments to small shops, pharmacies, schools, and transport operators, alongside offering instant loans and government service integration, can further reduce reliance on cash. Strong security measures, from OTP verification to real-time alerts, are essential to maintain trust and encourage adoption.

Infographic: TBS

Beyond convenience, mobile banking significantly lowers costs for both customers and banks. Customers save on travel, lost work hours, and repeated branch visits. Banks, meanwhile, benefit from reduced physical infrastructure needs, less cash handling, and optimized staff allocation. Between 2019 and 2024, City Bank doubled its customer base from 9 lakh to nearly 20 lakh while staff numbers grew by only 35%. Transaction volume on Citytouch skyrocketed from approximately Tk4,800 crore to nearly Tk100,000 crore, highlighting that technology, not additional branches, enabled this scale.

However, the massive adoption of mobile banking introduces new security challenges. The risk is no longer limited to weak passwords; it now involves how customers use their phones, which links they trust, and the care with which they share sensitive information. Customer literacy remains the greatest obstacle. Easy-to-use apps can also be exploited by fraudsters through social engineering, phishing, and increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks such as voice cloning and fake websites.

Addressing these risks requires more than technology. Banks, regulators, telecom operators, and consumer organizations must collaborate on continuous awareness campaigns, teaching customers to recognize suspicious activity, protect credentials, and respond to potential fraud. At the same time, banks must strengthen defenses with tools like behavioral analytics, real-time anomaly detection, and multi-layer authentication to safeguard digital interactions.

Regulatory support is also crucial to unlock the full potential of mobile banking in Bangladesh. Digital onboarding rules need updating: although banks can open digital accounts, monthly transaction limits remain capped at roughly Tk1 lakh, which is insufficient for modern households and small businesses. Lending regulations also need adjustment; digital loans are typically capped at Tk50,000, often falling short for micro-entrepreneurs. Raising these limits to Tk200,000–300,000, with proper credit checks, would expand access to capital through mobile apps.

Interoperability remains another priority. Bangladesh lacks a fully integrated payment infrastructure connecting all major players, limiting the seamless flow of digital transactions. Furthermore, consistent industry-wide standards for API connectivity, cybersecurity, and data sharing will enable banks to innovate safely at scale. With a robust regulatory framework, mobile banking can not only meet the growing needs of citizens and businesses but also propel the country toward a more cashless, efficient, and inclusive financial system.

In the end, mobile banking is no longer a supplementary tool—it is the backbone of modern finance in Bangladesh. By empowering individuals, lowering costs, enhancing security, and enabling cashless transactions, it is shaping a future where financial services are accessible to all, anytime and anywhere.