Remittance has increased by 5 per cent to $1.62 billion in last December from the previous month, but the inflow has declined by 21 per cent year-on-year in the last month of 2021.
The current inflow of remittance is normal after the withdrawal of travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic, said industry insiders.
During July to December of the current fiscal year, Bangladeshi expatriates sent $10.23 billion, down from $12.94 billion in the same period a year ago, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.
Bangladeshi expatriates have received incentives and festival bonuses due to Christmas and other year-end occasions, which may be the reason behind the increasing trend of remittance in December, said Agrani Bank Managing Director and CEO Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam.
He said the remittance inflow will increase further from next March as a large number of manpower will be exported to several countries, including Malaysia.
The government hiked cash incentive against remittance, which will push the inflow up in the upcoming days.
On January 1 this year, the government decided to increase the cash incentive on remittance to 2.5 per cent from existing 2 per cent in order to encourage sending forex through legal channels.
The decision, which came into effect from January 1, is expected to improve overall living standards of common people, boosting foreign currency reserves, checking money laundering and generating employment, said a finance ministry notice.
Trust Bank former managing director Faruq Mainuddin Ahmed said the Bangladeshi expatriates had sent more money to their relatives amid the pandemic considering the crisis period created by the deadly virus.
But now, the inflow of remittance is normal, he opined.
Six state-run commercial banks received $314.15 million as remittance while 42 private banks $1,277.63 million; two specialised banks $28.58 million and nine foreign banks $8.69 million, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.
