Bangladesh is going to polls on Dec 30, 2018 to elect the members of parliament.
Mobile banking restricted for polls as EC aims to avert influence of money
The Bangladesh Bank has clamped restrictions on mobile financial services during the polls on the Election Commission’s instruction to avert the influence of money on voters.
Published : 27 Dec 2018, 01:12 PM
Updated : 27 Dec 2018, 07:05 PM
The central bank has asked the mobile banking service providers to halt all sorts of transactions from 5pm on Friday to 5pm Sunday, the voting day.
However, personal account holders can transact up to Tk 5,000 from 5pm on Saturday until the end of voting at 5pm on Sunday, the central bank said in a notice on Thursday.
It means neither mobile banking agents nor personal account holders will be able to make any transaction for the first 24 hours of the ban.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Serajul Islam told bdnews24.com that they issued the order to restrict mobile banking for a limited period as requested by the EC.
The EC’s request followed a proposal by the Awami League to halt mobile banking during the election.
The ruling party expressed concern over influence of money on voters after the Rapid Action Battalion named BNP candidate Miah Nuruddin Ahmad Apu, who is also a former aide to the party’s acting chief Tarique Rahman, in an investigation into the seizure of Tk 180 million at an office in Dhaka.
An official at a mobile financial service provider told bdnews24.com they will halt all services during the restrictions.
As for the personal accounts, no-one will be able to draw cash even after transactions as the mobile banking agents cannot release the money, he argued. The official requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The central bank lowered the ceilings in January last year in an attempt to stop money laundering and terrorism financing.
The maximum deposit (cash-in) attempts per day currently is limited to two while maximum permissible daily deposit (cash-in) is Tk 15,000, according to the ceilings set by the central bank.
The maximum daily withdrawal attempts allowed is two and the maximum amount that can be withdrawn (cash out) per day is Tk 10,000. After cash-in has taken place through mobile phone, withdrawal of no more than Tk 5000 is allowed within 24 hours of the cash-in having taken place.
BANKS OVERCROWDED
Customers overcrowded the banks on Thursday to draw money before four days of holidays.
The tellers struggled to handle the huge rush of clients.
Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays while Sunday, the voting day, is a public holiday. Monday, the last day of the year, is the annual bank holiday.
The central bank in another order asked the banks to keep sufficient cash in the ATM booths so that the customers do not face problems in drawing money during these holidays.
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