Money exchange firms to be allowed to sell up to $ 2,000 to a client

Bangladesh Bank may double the foreign currency transaction limit of the currency exchange firms as their transactions decreased significantly after the central bank started online monitoring on them on the real-time basis.
The currency exchangers are now allowed to sell maximum US$ 1,000 or equivalent to other foreign currency by endorsing the passport of a client.
The central bank is now planning to increase the limit to US$ 2,000 as the business of currency exchangers is now facing a crisis due to prevention of illegal foreign currency transactions after the online monitoring was started by the central bank.
A BB official told New Age on Thursday that the currency exchangers had earlier made their maximum profit by conducting illegal transactions in the absence of the central bank’s online monitoring system.
The currency exchange firms have been submitting data on their all types of transaction to the central bank on real-time basis since January 1, 2016 in line with the central bank directives.
The BB has taken the initiative to stop the money laundering through the currency exchange firms, the official said.
Under the new system, the firms have to issue receipts to the clients by using the central bank’s software in which a transaction code number will be attached.
The central bank has made it mandatory for money exchange firms to provide the clients with receipts when they purchase or sell any foreign currency, the BB official said.
A person who is holding any type of foreign currency has to show the receipt against his or her currency to the law enforcement agencies, if required, he said.
If the currency holder fails to show the receipt, the foreign currency will be treated as illegal, he said.
Before the online monitoring system, the money exchange firms submitted their transaction record manually on monthly basis to the BB through their respective authorised dealer branches of the scheduled banks.
For this reason, the central bank failed to monitor the currency exchange firms properly, the central banker said.
The central bank is also thinking that it would increase the foreign currency transaction limit of the currency exchangers comparing the scheduled bank’s limit in the future.
An authorised dealer branch of bank is now allowed to sell maximum US$ 5,000 by endorsing the passport of a client.
The official said the central bank had earlier given licences to more than 600 firms to operate as money exchange firms across the country, but it had to cancel a huge number of licences in the last few years due to irregularities.
Some 240 money exchange firms are now operating their business across the country.

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