Banks must keep sufficient money in ATM booths during election holidays

Business Desk :

Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks to ensure sufficient money supply in ATM booths during the government holidays declared for the 13th National Parliament elections.

At the same time, instructions have also been given to immediately report any suspicious financial transaction information to the nearest police station during the holidays.

This information was revealed by relevant sources of the central bank on Tuesday Bangladesh Bank said that utility bill payment services including electricity, gas, water and telephone will continue to operate normally even during the election holidays.

However, instant money transfer or interbank instant transfer (IBFT) from one bank to another bank account will be temporarily suspended during this time. Correspondingly, The central bank said that from the start of Ramadan next week, transactions will be allowed from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. Bank offices will remain open from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.

The central bank has also imposed temporary restrictions on mobile financial services (MFS) and internet banking services to prevent misuse of money and irregularities in the elections.

The directive states that in view of the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections, transaction limits have been set for a specific period to prevent misuse of person-to-person (P2P) transactions through MFS and IBFT under the National Payments Switch Bangladesh (NPSB).

According to this directive, mobile banking personal account transactions will be limited for a total of 96 hours from 12:00 am on Monday to 11:59 pm on Thursday. The central bank believes that these measures will make it possible to maintain financial discipline and control illegal transactions during the election period.