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The government and banks must take measures to encourage expatriates to send money through the banking channel in a bid to boost remittance inflow, experts said at discussion on Wednesday.
The seminar titled ‘Remittance through legal channel: prospects of digital platforms’ was organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum at the ERF auditorium in the capital Dhaka.
At the seminar, economists, bankers and industry experts said that one of the easiest ways to overcome the foreign exchange crisis was to increase the remittance inflow.
Initiatives should be taken to ensure that money sent through legal channels reaches the beneficiary safely and instantly along with making the remittance sending process significantly easier, they said.
Ahsan H Mansoor, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, said, through various awareness programmes, migrant workers could be motivated to send dollars through legal channels.
Besides, attention should be given to increasing of digital services, he said.
To increase remittances through legal channels, the dollar market needs to be balanced, he said adding that migrant workers were more inclined to sending remittances via hundi when the dollar exchange rate between legal and illegal channels was high.
Planning minister MA Mannan said that the remittance receivers found it easier to receive remittances from their home even via illegal channels.
‘Remittances cannot be increased unless the distance between expatriates and the legal channels is reduced. The government is working on it. Digital platforms can play a pivotal role in this regard,’ he said.
Bazlul H Khondker, chairman of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling, presented the keynote at the seminar.
He said that remitters were choosing hundi because of the convenience of sending money quickly and at a much lower cost.
It will be possible to reduce the cost and time by half if digital platforms, including MFS, are used as legal channels, he said.
‘If we can strengthen the ecosystem and create ways to use the digital money digitally, the country’s economy will be stronger. For this, digital financial services should be patronised in the country,’ he said.
Masrur Reaz, chairman of the Policy Exchange said, ‘There is no alternative to using digital platforms to boost remittance inflow. If remittance inflow can be increased, it will be possible to meet the balance of payment deficit.’
He also said that the government must diversify and improve skills of migrant workers.
It should concentrate on sending skilled workers to developed countries, he said.
Sormindo Nilormi, professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, said, ‘It is also necessary to recognise the people who earn remittances working from Bangladesh. The definition of migrant workers also needs to be sorted out.’
Md Iskandar Mia, former executive director and former deputy head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, said, ‘Necessary initiatives should be taken to bring remittance of the illegal migrant workers through legal channel. For that, engaging MFS agents can be a solution. It is also important to take steps to stop money laundering.’
Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and chief executive officer of Islami Bank Limited, said that if remittances were brought through digital channels, it would be easier to meet the shortage of foreign currency in the next two or three months.
Khondakar Sakhawat Ali, emeritus fellow of Unnayan Samannay, said that the dollar earned by expatriates was grabbed by an unscrupulous group.
For this, hundi has to be prevented at the source level, he said.
ERF president Sharmeen Rinvy and its general secretary SM Rashidul Islam were also present.
(NA)
