No verification for remittance below $1,000

Bangladesh Bank plans to allow remitters to receive the government-announced 2 percent incentive directly in their accounts without any verification if they send amounts below $1,000. 

However, sources of income and other documents will be verified in case of remittance above $1,000 to avoid misuse of the fund. 

The banking regulator has prepared a draft guideline in this regard and sent it to the finance ministry for approval, said Ahmed Jamal, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank. 

“We will issue a circular after getting the approval.” 

He shared the info responding to a question on the possibility of the miscreants sending money abroad through hundi and bringing it back as remittance to receive the incentive. 

Jamal spoke at an event where Bangladesh Bank announced the Monetary Policy Statement for FY2020 on Wednesday. 

Early this week, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the incentive will be given from July 1 when the guideline will be made effective. 

For the first time, the government has introduced an incentive, which is 2 percent, on the money remitted by expatriate Bangladeshis with a view to encouraging the inflow of remittance through legal channels.  

The government has allocated Tk 3,060 crore for the purpose in the current fiscal year. 

The official said banks will pay an additional 2 percent to the remitters when they disburse the money to the bank accounts of the recipients. 

For example, if an expatriate sends Tk 100, the respective bank will disburse Tk 102 in favour of the beneficiary account. Later, the bank will claim the additional payment with the central bank. 

At present, commercial banks disburse incentives to exporters when their earnings enter the country.