Money changers cap cash dollar rate at Tk126.50
Demand for cash dollars increased after India reopened medical and travel visas for Bangladeshis.
The Money Changers Association of Bangladesh (MCAB) has set new exchange rates for the kerb market to help stabilise and regulate cash dollar prices.
Licensed money changers now can sell US dollars at a maximum of Tk126.50 and buy at Tk125.50, MCAB President MS Zaman announced at a press conference in Dhaka today (24 August).
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Several money changer owners said the cash dollar rate had recently climbed to as high as Tk128 in the kerb market. They said remittance inflows through expatriates carrying cash into Bangladesh had declined, while demand for cash dollars had increased after India reopened medical and travel visas for Bangladeshis.
Treasury officials at several public and private banks said banks bought remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis at Tk122.30 per dollar on Sunday. Banks, meanwhile, settled letters of credit at rates of up to Tk122.95 per dollar.
Zaman said the new rates were being communicated to all money changers across the country through MCAB's website.
'Money changers not behind volatility'
On dollar market volatility, Zaman rejected allegations that money changers manipulate rates, saying the sector lacks the scale and capital to influence the market. He instead blamed banks for creating instability and profiting from it in the post-Covid period.
He said money changers only trade cash currencies and cannot directly bring in remittances. Their main source of foreign currency is cash carried by returning travellers and expatriate workers, which they bring into formal channels and thereby indirectly support reserves.
Zaman said BB regulates the interbank market and sets rates for scheduled banks, but lacks similarly clear guidelines for money changers. He called for clearer rules, greater scope for legal foreign currency trading and simpler policies to curb the illegal market.
MCAB has also shared a list of illegal and unlicensed money changers with Bangladesh Bank, law enforcement agencies and journalists, he said, adding that licensed operators were following the central bank's instructions.
