Bangladesh Bank (BB) will announce the measure as soon as it receives a directive to this end from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, a central bank official said.

Criticising the move, President of Courier Service Association of Bangladesh (CSAB) Imamul Kabir Shanto said, "This will not be the right thing to do. If necessary, Bangladesh Bank may impose a limit on the level of money transfer for the courier services."

Imamul, who is also the managing director of Sundarbans Courier Services, said, "After all, this service is helping the people."

The central bank, however, views the impending ban as one of the many measures it has chalked out to stop illegal money transfer. Sources said the move was initiated when a BB taskforce on money laundering reported from Barisal that the courier services were being used for hundi transactions.

"We have sent 11 teams to visit different places to investigate how the hundi business operates in Bangladesh. They are probing the courier service companies as well as the banks to glean the picture," said a central bank official.

The investigators will also examine whether the courier services have any legal authority to transfer money. The BB also held meetings with the finance and post and telecoms ministries in this regard.

"As per the Bank Company Law and the Post Office Act, only banks and post offices can transfer money," noted the official. "We are now waiting for a directive on the issue from the telecoms ministry."

Defending the legality of money transfer through courier services, CSAB chief Imamul said, "We are operating as courier service companies under the Post Office Act. This question of whether courier services can transfer money or not also cropped up back in 1992. We had a discussion then with the then prime minister and the issue was resolved in our favour."

Imamul said, "As per our own convention, we accept transfer of a highest of Tk 20,000 per individual. Our services are being used for business and personal purposes. If the government wants to put some restrictive measures to streamline this business, it can set a limit on the amount of money to be transacted through us."

"If Bangladesh Bank wants to check hundi transaction through our system, it can develop a special mechanism to monitor our business," the CSAB president added.

He stressed the need for an operating guideline for the courier services to remove confusion or bad practices. Telecoms ministry sources, meanwhile, said such a policy was being processed and was likely to be approved by next month.

Giving his personal opinions on the issue, a finance ministry high official said, "courier services in Bangladesh grew because of the inefficiency of the postal department. It will be wise to amend the existing laws to allow courier services to transfer limited amount of money for the benefit of the people."

The official related one of his personal experiences: "Once, during a visit to Chittagong, I urgently needed some money. So, I called up my home and they sent the money through a courier service. I received it the next day. If there was no courier service, I would have landed in trouble, as both the banks and the postal department do not have any such prompt delivery system."

The courier services charge around Tk 20 for a transfer of Tk 1,000 and Tk 10 per additional thousand and deliver the money within a maximum of two days. The postal department, on the other hand, charges Tk 2.5 for transfer of a hundred taka -- or Tk 25 per thousand. And, in delivering the money, the postal department may take at least five to six days in those places that are outside the major district headquarters.

In the last 20 years of their involvement in money transfer, the number of courier services has grown to 70. Besides, there are also 15 foreign courier services operating in the country. By virtue of the public confidence they have earned over the time, they now handle huge volume of money transfer.