Remittance inflow rises 13.3% to $8.59b in Q1

Bangladesh received US$8.59 billion in workers’ remittances in the first quarter of the fiscal 2026-27, registering a 13.3% year-on-year growth, Bangladesh Bank data showed.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $2.76 billion in September, up 3% from $2.68 billion in the same month last year.
The September inflow, however, was lower than the previous month. Remittances stood at around $2.97 billion in August, meaning September receipts declined by about 6.9% month-on-month.
The central bank data showed that Bangladesh received $8.591 billion during July-September 2026, compared with $7.586 billion in the same period of FY26, an increase of $1.005 billion.
Monthly inflows also remained substantially higher than a year earlier.
Remittances were $2.85 billion in July, around $2.97 billion in August and $2.76 billion in September, compared with $2.47 billion, $2.42 billion and $2.68 billion respectively in the corresponding months of the previous fiscal year.
Bankers and economists attribute the sustained growth mainly to the greater use of formal channels, a relatively stable foreign-exchange market and measures discouraging hundi, the informal money-transfer system.

Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said the sustained growth reflected growing confidence among expatriate Bangladeshis in sending money through formal banking channels. The government and the central bank have also taken measures to make formal remittance channels more convenient while discouraging illegal hundi transactions.
The narrowing gap between formal and informal exchange rates has also encouraged migrants to use official channels. Bangladesh Bank’s transaction-based exchange rate remained relatively stable around Tk123 per dollar in September, according to the central bank.
The increase in overseas employment in recent years is another factor supporting remittance inflows. More than 9.69 lakh Bangladeshis went abroad for jobs in FY26, although the number was about 5% lower than the previous year.
The government’s 2.5% cash incentive on remittances has also helped make formal channels more attractive. 

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