Home
+
Published : 04 May 2025, 09:08 PM
While remittances sent by expatriates to their families in April fell short of the record set in March, the growth in remittance inflows has maintained its steady climb.
According to Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Arief Hossain Khan, the country raked in around $3 billion in remittances through banking channels in April, making it the second-highest inflow from overseas Bangladeshis in the country’s history.
The amount swelled by 34.80 percent year-on-year, up from $2.04 billion received last year.
In March, ahead of Eid ul-Fitr, expatriates sent $3.29 billion in remittances, recording the highest-ever remittance earnings in a single month.
Bangladesh Bank data shows that the highest monthly remittance recorded before March was in December 2024, when the Bangladeshis abroad sent over $2.64 billion.
Due to the rise in inflows, Bangladesh posted remittances above the $2 billion mark for nine straight months. As a result, the total remittance received in the first 10 months of the 2024–25 fiscal year has reached $24.54 billion.
In comparison, expatriates sent $19.12 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year, which means remittance inflows have seen an increase of 28.30 percent.
Commenting on the positive trend, Sheikh Mohammad Maruf, managing director of Dhaka Bank, told bdnews24.com that the stability of the dollar market has encouraged more remittances to flow through official banking channels.
At the end of January this year, the exchange rate of the dollar had risen to Tk 128. Due to increased demand, reports indicated that banks were purchasing remittances at rates as high as Tk 126 per dollar.
Following this, Bangladesh Bank set the maximum official remittance rate at Tk 122 at the end of January. However, banks were allowed to offer up to one taka higher than this rate when exchanging dollars.
Bankers say that the elevated exchange rate, compared to any previous period, has had a positive impact on remittance inflows.
