Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The flow of inward remittance crossed US$10 billion-mark in the first nine months of this fiscal year (FY) following strengthening monitoring by the central bank.
The overall remittance inflow jumped by 17.04 per cent or $1.57 billion to $10.76 billion during the July-March period of the FY 2017-18, from $9.19 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
Depreciating mode of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar has also contributed to achieve the higher growth of remittance during the period under review, according to bankers and experts.
They also said the remittance inflow may rise further in the coming months ahead of the holy Ramadan.
But the exchange rate of BDT against the US dollar should be re-fixed considering the overall market scenario that may help boosting the inflow of remittance in future, they noted.
The local currency depreciated by around BDT 2.50 against the greenback during the period under review for purchasing the US dollar from remitters, official known as TT (Telegraphic Transfer) clean, a senior private banker said.
The exchange rate of the BDT against the US dollar, however, maintained a stable trend in both customer level and inter-bank foreign exchange market in March, 2018.
Currently, the US dollar is quoted at BDT 82.96 in the inter-bank forex market while bill for collection (BC) selling and TT clean rates are BDT 83.50 and BDT 82.51 respectively.
“We’ve already strengthened our monitoring to keep the exchange rate of BDT against the greenback stable along with curbing illegal fund transfers using mobile financial services,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the government as well as central bank is now working continuously to expedite the inflow of remittance from different parts of the world.
Meanwhile, the flow of inward remittance bounced back in March after a falling trend in the previous month, as the exchange rate of the local currency maintained stability against the US dollar.
The remittance inflow was estimated at $1.30 billion in March 2018, up by $151.46 million from that of the previous month. In February 2018, the amount stood at $1.15 billion. It was $1.08 billion in March 2017.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe along with 1,196 drawing arrangements abroad to boost the remittance inflow.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money through formal banking channel, instead of illegal "hundi" system, to help boost the country's foreign exchange reserve.
Currently, most banks are trying to increase remittance flow from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
"We're continuously trying to increase the flow of inward remittance through official channels to meet our internal demand for foreign exchange," a senior official of a private commercial bank (PCB) said.
He said most of the banks are now trying to establish new contacts with overseas exchange houses so that the migrant workers can find it easier to send money back home.
All the PCBs received $959.51 million as remittance in March last, while six state-owned commercial banks received $315.79 million, nine foreign commercial banks $13.82 million, and two specialised banks $11.34 million.
BBN/SSR/AD