Bangladesh witnessed a record-breaking surge in remittance inflow in March, receiving $3.29 billion鈥攖he highest ever in a single month, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
It marked a staggering 65 per cent year-on-year growth from $1.99 billion recorded in March 2024 and surpassed the previous highest monthly inflow of $2.64 billion achieved just three months earlier in December 2024.
The sharp increase has been largely attributed to the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, a time when expatriates traditionally send additional funds to support their families back home.
Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the largest religious festivals of Muslims, was celebrated in the country on March 31.
From July 2024 to March 2025 of the 2024-25 financial year, remittance inflow totalled $21.77 billion, marking a 27.6-per cent increase from $17.07 billion in the same period of FY24.
Remittance inflow remained above $2 billion consecutively from August 2024 to February in FY25, which now crossed $3 billion in March.
Bankers said that the reduction in rate gap between official banking channel and informal hundi market was one of the key factors behind the remittance surge.
Previously, a substantial difference between open market and interbank dollar rates prompted many migrants to use informal channels.
The interbank exchange rate rose to Tk 122 a US dollar in March, up from Tk 110 in December 2023 and significantly higher than Tk 106 in June 2023 and Tk 93.45 in June 2022.
The steady increase in official rates has made banking channels more attractive to remitters, particularly when combined with the government鈥檚 incentive package.
Since January 2022, the government has offered a 2.5 per cent cash incentive on remittances sent through formal channels, up from the previous 2 per cent.
After the political shift in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, remittance inflow through formal channel surged significantly.
In March, five state-owned banks accounted for an impressive 31.85 per cent of the total remittances, processing $1,051 million.
Another crucial contributor has been the tightening of regulatory oversight on money laundering and illegal transactions.
Therefore, the monthly inflow has exceeded $2 billion from August 2024 through February 2025鈥攁 level that was difficult to sustain in previous years.
Islami Bank Bangladesh, however, led with remittance receipts of $515 million in March, followed by those of Bangladesh Krishi Bank amounting $301 million, Janata Bank $239 million, Trust Bank $221 million, BRAC Bank with $214 million, Sonali Bank $200 million, Agrani Bank $167.81 million, City Bank $167.57 million, Rupali Bank $142 million and Bank Asia $121 million.
The high remittance inflow has helped the central bank repay significant foreign overdue payments by the end of December 2024.
Despite these repayments, the country鈥檚 foreign currency reserve, according to the International Monetary Fund guidelines, increased to near $21 billion by the end of March.
This improvement in reserve position offers the central bank some breathing space in managing currency volatility and external debt obligations.
The remittance inflow reached $23.9 billion in FY24, up from $21.6 billion in FY23.
