Bangladesh receives $1.05b in remittances in first 12 days of April

With the Eid season over, Bangladesh's remittance inflow has dropped slightly in April, with expatriates sending over $ 1.05 billion in remittances in the first twelve days of the running month.

Of this, remittances through state-owned and specialised banks accounted for $459.72 million, while private banks received $590.34 million, according to a report released by the Bangladesh Bank today (15 April).

This amount reflects a daily average remittance of $87.69 million sent by expatriates during the period.

Bangladesh received a record $3.29 billion, averaging $109.85 million per day, as remittances in March, making it the highest remittance inflow for a single month in the country's history, surpassing the previous record of $2.64 billion in December last year.

The amount marked a 64% year-on-year increase as the country had received $1.99 billion in remittances in the same period last year, according to Bangladesh Bank data. 

In February this year, the country received $2.53 billion in remittances, which made it the then fourth-highest monthly remittance on record.

According to bankers, the remittance inflow shot up in March due to expatriates sending more money to their families marking the holy month of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.  Additionally, they attributed the reduced reliance on informal hundi channels as a factor.

"Due to volatility in the kerb market, expatriates are now more comfortable using official channels," the treasury head of a private bank told The Business Standard earlier this month on the increase of remittance inflow in March.

The official also noted that remittances have averaged around $2.5 billion per month since last August, and if the trend continues, the annual total could reach $30 billion.