Remittance drops by $3.25b in 8 months of FY22

Bangladesh’s remittance inflow decreased by $284.5 million to $1496.09 million in February of 2021-22 fiscal compared with the same month of last fiscal year, reports UNB.

In February of 2020-21 fiscal, the expatriates sent remittance of $1780.59 million to the country.

Bangladesh received $13.44 billion remittance in the first 8 months of the current 2021-22 fiscal which is counted from 1 July every year. In the same period of last 2020-21 fiscal, the expatriates sent $16.68 billion. It means flow of inward remittance has decreased by $3.25 billion.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) data released on Tuesday found that the expatriates in different countries of the world sent $1496.09 million inward remittance through banking channels.

The previous month, in January, expatriates sent inward remittances of $1704.53 million, in December $1630.66 million.

The government has been providing a 2 per cent incentive from the 2019-20 fiscal to increase remittance inflow in the formal channel (banking) discouraging hundi.

After easing global Covid restriction on movement, the inward remittance flow decreased gradually compared with the severe pandemic period. In 2021-22 fiscal, Bangladesh received a record $ 24.77 billion remittance, which is the highest ever.

In January 2022, the government increased remittance incentive to 2.5 per cent to increase the inward remittance flow in the banking channel.

It means the expatriates are now getting hassle-free Tk 102.5 for sending Tk 100 remittance through banking channels.

The sector insiders said the remittance inflow would increase in the remaining period of the current fiscal year as the government increased incentive rate and upward trend of fuel oil prices in the global market.