Bangladesh Bank introduces RTGS for swift inter-bank forex exchange
The Bangladesh Bank has started instant inter-bank foreign currency transactions through an online-based real-time gross settlement (RTGS) facility.
Banks are primarily clearing and settling in US dollars, British pounds, euros, Canadian dollars and Japanese yen through RTGS.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rauf Talukder officially inaugurated the programme on Sunday (4 September).
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Until now, five foreign currencies including the dollar, pound, and euro were settled in a traditional transaction system where banks used paper documents and sent representatives to another bank for settlement.
Through the implementation of this system, clearing management in a foreign currency will be much easier as no bank representative will have to be physically present at the clearing house for cheques and FDD.
"As a result, there is no more risk of damage or loss of cheques/FDDs and no more opportunities for fraudulent activities. On the other hand, FDD clearing which used to take a long time will now be settled instantly," said a press release.
In the RTGS system, the transaction limit in local currency is Tk1 lakh, however, in the case of foreign currency, there is no limit which will increase the scope of transactions and the number of beneficiaries.
