Money changers fix dollar rates at Tk125.50-126.50 to stabilise open market

The Money Changers Association of Bangladesh (MCAB) has fixed new buying and selling rates for the US dollar in an effort to bring discipline and stability to the open market.
Under the new rates, licensed money changers will buy each US dollar at Tk125.50 and sell it at Tk126.50.
MCAB President MS Zaman announced the new rates at a press conference at the association’s central office in Dhaka on Monday.
Zaman said the rates had been determined in line with instructions from Bangladesh Bank and would be communicated to money changers across the country through the association’s website.
Responding to questions about instability in the dollar market, he said money changers should not be blamed for unethical manipulation of exchange rates.
“The responsibility for unethical manipulation in the dollar market does not lie with money changers; rather, banks have a much greater role in this regard,” he said.
He argued that the money-changing sector has a limited scope and does not have the capacity to manipulate the market or influence the overall exchange rate.
According to the MCAB president, various banks made substantial profits by taking advantage of volatility in the foreign exchange market in the post-Covid period. However, he said, money changers are often blamed whenever the dollar market becomes unstable.
Zaman said licensed money changers deal only in cash foreign currency and do not conduct transactions involving electronic or virtual currencies. They also cannot directly bring remittances into the country. 
He said the main source of money changers’ business is foreign currency brought into Bangladesh in cash by returning passengers and expatriate workers.
“When expatriates bring their hard-earned foreign currency into the country, money changers purchase it and bring it into the legal financial channel. In this way, they also indirectly contribute to the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” he said.
Rejecting allegations that money changers can control the dollar rate, Zaman questioned how businesses with limited capital could influence the country’s overall foreign exchange market.
“Bangladesh Bank is the driving force of the country’s economy and formulates monetary policy. Yet whenever there is instability in the market, allegations are made that money changers are raising the dollar rate,” he said.
He said Bangladesh Bank buys and sells dollars in the interbank market and sets exchange rates for scheduled banks, but there are no clear and specific guidelines governing exchange rates at money-changing businesses.
The MCAB president called for removing this disparity, expanding opportunities for legal foreign currency transactions and simplifying policies to curb the illegal dollar market.
Zaman also said the association had submitted a list of illegal and unlicensed money changers to the central bank, law enforcement agencies and journalists in the interest of ensuring legal and transparent business operations.
He added that MCAB members were strictly following Bangladesh Bank’s written instructions aimed at maintaining discipline and stability in the foreign exchange market.