Five more entities have received preliminary approval to launch digital banks in the country. Bangladesh Bank has decided to issue Letters of Intent (LOIs) to these five entities, which include joint ventures involving bKash, Robi, Banglalink, and Square.

The entities are: bKash’s ‘bKash Digital Bank’; Robi Axiata’s ‘Boost Digital Bank’; ‘Nova Digital Bank’ (a joint venture between Banglalink’s parent company, Veon, and Square Group); ‘Digital Banking of Bhutan-DK’; and ‘Kori’.

Among them is ‘Kori’, which had received approval during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government.

Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director and spokesperson for Bangladesh Bank, informed bdnews24.com that the decision to issue LOIs to these entities was made during a meeting of the central bank’s board of directors on Thursday (September 24).

He stated that approval for digital banking was granted to five entities—including ‘Kori’, which had been approved earlier—during today’s board meeting. Letters of Intent (LOIs) will now be issued, and final licenses will be granted once the necessary conditions are met.