In 2023 Bangladesh received $21.92 billion in remittance, marking an increase 2.88%from 2022, according to the Bangladesh Bank data.
According to the central bank data of last five years, Bangladesh received $18.35 billion remittances in 2019, $21.74 billion in 2020 – 18.45% more than the previous year. From there it increased slightly to $22.07 billion in 2021.
In December 2023, expatriates sent $1.99 million through the banking channel – the highest in the last six months, and $6 million more than November.
In the last six month of 2023, expatriates sent home $1.97 billion in July, $1.59 billion in August, $1.33 billion in September, $1.98 billion in October and $1.93billion in November.
Due to the drop in remittances, the country’s reserve health remains weak, according to analysts.
But they attributed the increase in remittance inflow through formal channels to the government’s various initiatives including a rise in incentives for remitters to stabilise the country’s foreign exchange market.
Remitters now get additional incentives of up to 2.5% from banks in addition to the 2.5% offered by the government as banks have increased efforts to boost remittance earnings amid the foreign exchange crisis.
Some banks are offering at least Tk5 to Tk6 per dollar more than the permitted rate fixed by the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA) and the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB).
In the last week of November, BAFEDA and ABB appreciated the taka by Tk0.25 against the US dollar and had decided to buy the greenback at Tk109.50 from exporters and remitters, and sell it at Tk110 each.