Remittance rose 21% in April for Eid

Remittance inflow to Bangladesh rose 21.31 percent year-on-year to $2.04 billion in April thanks to Eid-ul-Fitr as the country's migrant workers typically send more money home ahead of the major religious festival for Muslims.

Meanwhile, industry insiders said the remittance inflow increased because some banks started offering higher rates than the official rates in case of collecting remittance.

April's receipts were also 2.31 percent higher than that of the previous month.

In March, $1.99 billion entered Bangladesh as remittance, central bank data showed.

A senior official of Bangladesh Bank said the country's expatriates sent huge remittances in just two weeks ahead of Eid, which helped boost the remittance inflow last month.

He also said the central bank's flexibility on banks in case of collecting remittance boosted the inflow.

Banks can offer a maximum of Tk 114.5 per US dollar, including the Tk 2.5 government incentive, but some are offering up to Tk 120 per dollar, according to bankers.

The official exchange rate is Tk 110.

Last month, the highest amount of remittance came through Islami Bank with $541.25 million.

Social Islami Bank followed with $148.23 million, BRAC Bank with $121.51 million, Janata Bank with $111 million and National Bank with $110.18 million, the data showed.

On the other hand, some banks were not able to bring a single penny of remittance in April.

Officials of commercial banks said the remittance inflows are not up to the mark considering the record number of manpower exports because the unofficial exchange rate is still high.

In 2023, a record 13.05 lakh workers went abroad for jobs, up 15 percent year-on-year, according to data of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

The remittance inflow was $1.99 billion in March, down from $2.16 billion in February and $2.11 billion in January, central bank data showed.

Bankers said the inflow will continue to rise in the upcoming months, which will then create a breathing space for the government by helping to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.

On April 30, the forex reserves stood at $19.95 billion, down from $20.10 billion on April 8.

The forex reserves have been declining since August 2021 due to various reasons, including higher outflow of funds compared to inflow.