Although remittances were rising sharply COVID-19 infections were on the rise, they are now declining. This is one of the indicators of the economy declining in the last few months. The pace of remittances has been slowing down as the COVID-19 situation has improved. Last October, the country received less than 165 crore dollars in remittances, the lowest in the last 17 months. This is 4.5% less than the previous month of September and about 21.5% less than the same period last fiscal year. In all, remittances declined by about 20% in the first four months of the current fiscal year (July-October). This information has been found in the review of the updated report of Bangladesh Bank.
Concerned parties say that as the COVID-19 situation has improved, the trend has increased again. As a result, remittances in banking channels have decreased. From 1 July 2019, 2 interest is being given for sending remittances through banking channels. This facility has been maintained in the current fiscal year also. After 2% cash interest was given in remittances, expatriates started sending more money to their families every month. Even during the pandemic, their remittances greatly increased. But now that the COVID-19 situation has improved, remittance inflow is declining.
