Jumbangla Desk: Bangladesh Bank has lifted the interest rate limit on Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) accounts. From now on, the interest rate on these deposits can be determined based on the bank-customer relationship. Those concerned say that till now the interest rate of customers was fixed by adding maximum one and a half percent (5.14+1.5) to Sofor rate. But now that limit is no more.

As a result of this initiative, the flow of dollars to the bank will increase. Because anyone outside of the country can now claim more profit than before if he keeps dollars in the bank. As a result, dollars left at home will return to the bank. A notification in this regard was issued by the Foreign Exchange and Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank on Thursday.

It says, 'there will be no limit on interest rate set by Bangladesh Bank against Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) account. From now on the interest rate will be determined on the basis of bank-customer relationship.

Bangladesh Bank issued a notification from December 3 last year to provide additional benefits including interest on Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) accounts to return dollars kept at home to the bank. After that, some banks including The City started opening these accounts with extra initiative.

At present, most of the cash dollars are stored in Eastern, The City, BRAC, Dutch-Bangla, Prime, Pubali, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Islami and other banks. Apart from US Dollars, RFCD accounts can also be opened in Pounds, Euros, Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Singapore Dollars.

RFCD account for whom: Any Bangladeshi citizen above 18 years from abroad can open an RFCD account at any bank. In this case, when you traveled abroad, it is not the main thing. The main thing is that the credentials of those who have gone abroad i.e. passport and visa documents should be submitted to the bank.

Two copies of photograph, nominee, National Identity Card (NID) and Tax Identification Number (TIN) are also required for account opening. Contrary to this calculation, banks issue debit cards to customers without providing a check book, which does not require any authorization for spending.

How many dollars can be deposited: A citizen can deposit up to $10,000 as RFCD for each foreign trip. As a result, if someone has traveled abroad 10 times in the last year, he can deposit 100,000 dollars as his account without any documents. However, if he wants to deposit more dollars in each trip, he will have to submit a customs declaration to bring more dollars into the country.

As per the central bank's new guidelines, banks are now offering up to 7 percent interest against this amount. According to the instructions of Bangladesh Bank, the banks will give at least one and a half percent interest on the deposits with the benchmark rate. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFOR) is now 5.31 percent. Accordingly the interest rate as RFCD stands at 6.81 percent.

Benefits: At present, every citizen of the country can spend a maximum of $12,000 abroad in a year. Those who shop on e-commerce sitting in the country cannot buy products worth more than 300 dollars at a time. However, there is no limit on spending abroad with the card taken against the RFCD account. The entire amount of the account can be spent. Also, this card does not require various approvals for education and health expenses. Five thousand dollars in cash can be withdrawn from the bank for each trip.

Such customers can buy products of any price in the country or abroad. Banks are allowed to issue two additional cards with each card against the account. Dependents of the customer including children or siblings can also use the card.

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