Scope to enlarge remittance inflow remains untapped

Reza Mahmud :
Bangladesh earns about 22 billion US dollars of remittances sent by its diasporas across the world annually while it failed to realize scope to enlarge the amount by facilitating banking channels near to their work places abroad.
Stakeholders said that most of our migrant workers are working in remote areas in the concerned countries where they get less facilities of banking channels.
As a result, the diasporas used to send money to their families through various unauthorized channels as like hundi.
On the other hand, the hundi circles are also very active to collect money from the migrant workers in every country and almost all territories.
As the hundi circles collect money from thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers, the country failed to get the potential remittance inflow from abroad.
Contacted several leaders of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), told The New Nation that most of our migrant workers are little educated and unskilled.
They said most of our migrant workers are working in the Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
They are staying in remote areas of those countries far away from capital cities and big townships.
As such, those Diasporas are less aware about understanding difference between legal and illegal channels for sending money home.
They used those channels which is available in their doorsteps of their working places.
The BAIRA leaders and the family members of the migrant workers said that the hundi circles use various techniques to collect money from them.
“The people from hundi circles used to connect the migrant workers with their family members in the country through mobile phone calls while they get their monthly salaries. As a point their family members ask for sending money and the hundi people assured them to send money by their local agents immediately. Then they collect foreign currency from those migrant workers exchanging the taka sent to families,” one of the Diasporas family member said preferring anonymity.
He said that the migrant workers feel it easier than going any city far away from their workplaces.
When contacted, Noman Chowdhury, Vice-President-1, of BAIRA told The New Nation on Wednesday, “If banking facilities could be set up near to our expatriates’ workplaces the remittance inflow would be increased by several times more.”
He suggested to establish mobile banking system to the expatriates doorsteps abroad.
When contacted, Rehana Perween, Sports, Recreation and Cultural Secretary, BAIRA told The New Nation, “When the hundi circle made huge facilities of sending money to home easily, our government should take necessary measures to set banking facility there immediately.”
She said the banks should operate banking work at least two or three days during the workers get their monthly wages.
When contacted, Mezbaul Haque, spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank told The New Nation on Wednesday, “We have circulated that companies which want to operate mobile finance system (MFS) with Bangladeshi expatriates abroad to submit applications till December 31.”
“Bangladesh Bank will allow those companies to start the MFS after scrutinizing applications soon,” the central bank spokesperson said.
He hoped that starting MFS operating, the remittance inflow will be increased desirably.  
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has retained its position as the recipient of the seventh highest amount of money transferred by its expatriates among 10 top recipient nations in 2021.
The World Bank revealed the projection in a report last year.
Remittance inflow to Bangladesh increased by only 2.2 per cent in 2021 to $22 billion.
According to the report, the remittance growth was powered mainly by 2.5 pc of the government incentives and support from migrants for their families back home.