A total of 12 local and foreign entities have applied to the Bangladesh Bank for digital bank licences, as the deadline for submission ended on Sunday.

The applicants are British Bangla Digital Bank PLC, Digital Banking of Bhutan-DK, Amar Digital Bank-22MFI, 36 Digital Bank PLC, Boost-ROBI, Amar Bank (proposed), 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.

Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director and Spokesperson of the central bank, confirmed the development on Monday.

Earlier, on September 15, the central bank extended the application deadline till November 2, instructing interested parties to submit proposals to its Banking Regulation and Policy Department along with all necessary documents.

On August 26, the Bangladesh Bank invited new applications for digital bank licences under its revised digital bank guidelines, which aim to prevent shell companies from sponsoring proposed digital banks.

Under the updated rules issued on August 25, the central bank tightened the fit-and-proper criteria for sponsors and raised the minimum paid-up capital requirement from Tk 125 crore to Tk 300 crore.

Sponsors must also disclose full details of all citizenships if they hold more than one, as well as any previously renounced citizenships. Additionally, individuals or entities involved in lawsuits related to loan default will be disqualified, while existing banks and financial institutions operating in Bangladesh are barred from sponsoring digital banks.

Previously, in October 2023, the central bank approved digital banking licences for two entities — Nagad Digital Bank and Kori Digital Bank — out of 52 applicants.

Nagad Digital Bank was backed by the same investors as Nagad Mobile Financial Services, while Kori was sponsored by ACI Limited. However, in August 2024, the Bangladesh Bank revoked Nagad Digital Bank’s licence over allegations of corruption and questionable sponsorship.