Bangladesh Bank (BB) has taken initiatives to develop Cox's Bazar as the country's first cashless district, said BB Governor Ahsan H Mansur yesterday.

To make Bangladesh cashless, every citizen must have access to smartphones priced between Tk 6,000 and Tk 7,000, he said at an event in Chattogram.

The central bank has set a goal of settling at least 75 percent of retail transactions through digital technologies by 2027.

Chattogram is the country's economic lifeline, hosting the main seaport, export processing zones, heavy industries, energy infrastructure and a large share of international trade, the governor said.

"Bangladesh must strengthen Chattogram's regional and global connectivity, similar to Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, to fully unlock the region's economic and geopolitical potential".

He said the 24/7 Real Time Gross Settlement System, an instantaneous electronic funds transfer mechanism, would soon be introduced at all seaports and airports to ease import-export operations.

Mansur stressed the need to ensure adequate and affordable credit to productive sectors, particularly by expanding small and medium enterprises and agricultural lending at the district and grassroots levels.

He was speaking at a views-exchange meeting on the economic potential of the Chattogram region and the role of the central bank

The meeting, chaired by BB Executive Director Md Mokbul Hossain, was attended by representatives from business chambers, banks, government agencies and academic institutions