But in September, remittances fell 10.84 per cent year-on-year to about $1.54 billion on fears of a global recession and foreign exchange market volatility due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which continued to weigh on the country’s economy.
Remittances sent home by Bangladeshis abroad fell 7.3 per cent year-on-year to about $1.53 billion in October, the lowest in eight months.
Bangladesh sees inward remittances decline by 15.12 percent to $21.03 billion in 2021-22 after growing over 36 percent to $24.78 billion in 2020-21.
In recent months, the central bank further eased paperwork requirements for remittances, while the government continued cash incentives on remittances sent by expatriates to encourage them to use legal channels.
Hundi, an illegal channel for making cross-border transactions, however, continued to affect inward remittances.
In this illegal system, migrant Bangladeshis pay hundi agents abroad in foreign currency and local agents pay migrants’ relatives in Bangladesh in taka.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar said on Thursday that exporters and importers are also using unauthorized channels for money laundering.
He said the central bank has stepped up its efforts to curb the hundi as the country’s foreign exchange reserves are depleting.
The central bank last month urged expatriates to send money through banks, reminding them of the legal consequences of using illegal means to conduct cross-border transactions.
It added that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit is taking legal action against all those involved in illegal means of remittance.