Inward remittance dipped to a 10-month low in July, with Bangladesh receiving nearly $1.91 billion from expatriates throughout the month.
The central bank released the updates on remittance on Thursday. The last time the country received a remittance lower than the current figure was in September last year, when the figure was $1.33 billion.
All banks were closed from 19 to 23 July due to the adversities stemming from the quota reform movement. Besides, broadband internet services were suspended for five days, while mobile internet was suspended for ten days.
The remittance inflow was robust in June as the expatriates remitted a total of $2.54 billion in the month. It was the highest monthly total in the past three years, closely following $2.59 billion recorded in July, 2020.
Maintaining the robust flow, the first three weeks of July saw an average inflow of $400 to $500 million each, totaling $1.42 billion by 20 July. In the following 11 days of the month, the expatriates sent home $479 million in total, with $120 million arriving on 31 July alone.
Some officials of the Bangladesh Bank said the banks are required to disburse remittances within 24 hours of receipt. However, there might be a delay of two to three days if overseas remittance houses hold onto the funds.
In response to the declining remittance, the central bank recently summoned managing directors of the country’s top 12 banks and urged them to focus on increasing expatriate income, even at higher costs.
Banks were previously collecting remittances at Tk 117 to 118 per dollar. Following the instruction, the exchange rate for remittances rose to Tk 120 per dollar.
The central bank has also taken a set of measures to increase remittances and other overseas income. According to sources, the Bangladesh Bank relaxed its monitoring on fixing the exchange rate and execution of other rules and regulations.