Remittance inflow into Bangladesh grew by 8.9 per cent in August compared with the same month a year earlier, reflecting sustained momentum in migrant workers’ earnings sent through formal channels.
Bangladesh Bank data show that remittances rose to $2.42 billion in August 2025, up from $2.22 billion in August 2024.
However, the figure was slightly lower than July’s $2.47 billion.
During the first two months of the 2025-26 financial year, remittances jumped 18.4 per cent to $4.9 billion from $4.13 billion in the same period of FY24.
In the past fiscal year, remittance inflows crossed the $30 billion mark for the first time, reaching $30.32 billion — a 26.8 per cent rise from $23.91 billion in FY24.
Monthly inflows have remained above $2 billion since August 2024, supported by improved official exchange rates and government incentives.
Bankers attributed the growth to a reduced rate gap between official channels and the informal hundi market.
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 123 a US dollar, 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’s 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 before.
After the political shift in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, remittance inflow through formal channel surged significantly.
Another crucial contributor has been the tightening of regulatory oversight on money laundering and illegal transactions.
The inflows helped push foreign currency reserves, measured under International Monetary Fund guidelines, to $26.19 billion on August 28, giving the central bank more space to manage currency volatility and external payments.
The Bangladesh Bank data showed that in July, six state-owned banks received $531 million in remittances, two specialised banks $295 million, 43 private commercial banks $1,525 million and nine foreign commercial banks $10.22 million.
Meanwhile, trade deficit, although still large, also showed slight improvement in July-June.
The gap narrowed to $20.5 billion in FY25, compared with that of $22.4 billion a year earlier.
