Bangladesh’s Remittances Hit $15B Record

Bangladesh’s inward remittances — or the flow of funds into the country by Bangladeshis working outside the country — reached a record level at more than $15 billion in the latest fiscal year. The Financial Express reported Thursday (July 2) that the new heights come in the wake of policy from the country’s central banking system that had been aimed at increasing that activity in part by mobile payments.

The $15.3 billion in funds flow was up 7.6 percent over the previous year’s period, according to a Bangladesh Bank statement. Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said in the statement that the central bank had worked in conjunction with commercial banks with boosting inflows, and thus the foreign exchange level stands at $25 billion.

In addition, exchange rates helped foster activity, particularly the Bangladeshi Taka against the U.S. dollar.

One key stimulant has come in the wake of adopting mobile banking, which has been promoted by the central bank. That helped growth rebound from fiscal year 2014, which in turn was down slightly from 2013, to the tune of 1.6 percent, tied in part to political turmoil.

Country specific agreements should also start to impact remittance to Bangladesh in a positive way. “We expect that the flow of inward remittances will increase further in the coming months when manpower export to Malaysia is set to start through private sectors between the two countries,” Ahsan Ullah, executive director of the central bank, said in an interview with The Financial Express. The country is also looking to increase flows from other parts of the world.

The bank is also permitting local banks to establish exchange houses and drawing arrangements across other nations to facilitate the inflow of remittance, according to Ullah. The central bank will also continue to educate the populace on utilizing traditional, and official, banking channels rather than what is known as the illegal “hundi” system.

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