Outward payment eases

The central bank relaxed its policy allowing banks to remit outward payment through international card channels, as an alternative to traditional banking channels, to facilitate transactions, officials said.
Under the relaxation, authorised dealer (AD) banks will be able to effect outward remittance on the internet through international remittance cards issued in their names, according to a notification, issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), on Monday.
Traditionally, AD banks execute transactions through swift messages. And exchange houses facilitate wage remittances as per the prevailing arrangements.
The AD banks are now allowed to effect remittances on account of IT related expenses; membership fees, fees for application, registration, admission, examination, etc.; payment for permissible study abroad; visa processing fee; immigration visa processing fees, evaluation fees, right of landing fee; registration/participation fee for attending training, seminar, workshop abroad; publication related fees of articles in international journals; travel expenses on health ground; and payments for tour operations from their foreign currency accounts.
"We've relaxed our policy to help cut remittance costs for small value transactions," a BB senior official told the FE while explaining the main objective of the notification.
He also said the policy would also ease transactional formalities.

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