Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The inflow of remittance in September 2017 registered US$853.73 million, which was lowest in 84-month or seven years, according to the central bank’s latest figures.
The flow of inward remittances was around $838 million in September 2010, the official figures showed.
Senior officials of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, see the fall as a normal phenomenon saying that the flow of inward remittance usually drop after the Eid-ul-Azha each year.
They expect the inflow of remittance will increase in the coming months.
Echoing the BB’s officials, Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dhaka Bank Limited, also expects that the inflow of remittances may improve slightly in the current month.
The remittance fell by $564.85 million or nearly 40 per cent from the receipts of $1.42 billion in August this year. It was $1.06 billion in September 2016.
The sharp fall registered in September as the month followed a high remittance inflow season ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, according to the BB officials.
However, the flow of inward remittances increased by 4.38 per cent to $3.39 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY) 2017-18 from $3.24 billion in the same period of FY 17.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1,184 drawing arrangements abroad, to help boost the remittance inflow, they added.
The central bank had earlier taken a series of measures, including creation of mass awareness, so the NRBs (non-resident Bangladeshis) send their money home through the banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system.
“We’re still working to boost the flow of inward remittances in the current fiscal year,” another central banker told BBN in Dhaka while replying to a query.
As part of the move, the central bank of Bangladesh had asked the banks for taking measures to attract NRBs through improving the quality of remittance services.
The banks have also been instructed to open ‘help desk’ at each branch concerned for ensuring better remittance services.
The central bank’s latest move came against the backdrop of falling trend in inward remittance in the last few months, following the slower development activities in the Middle-Eastern countries due to lower price of fuel oil in the global market.
The banking sector insiders, however, said a rising trend in sending hard-earned money by the expatriate Bangladeshis through informal channels had also pushed down the flow of inward remittances.
The inflow of remittance dropped by 14.48 per cent to $12.77 billion in the FY2016-17 from $14.93 billion a year before, BB data showed.
BBN/SSR/AD