Companies involved in small value service exports in non-physical form such as data entry/data process, off-shore IT service, process outsourcing will be able to receive their overseas payments through the OPGSPs.
The OPGSPs include Paypal, MoneyBookers, Best Payment Gateway (BPG) and Virtual Pay online platforms.
In view of the growing role of the services provided by the Online Payment Gateway Service Providers (OPGSPs), Bangladesh Bank (BB) has planned to allow the Authorised Dealers (ADs) to offer the facility of repatriation of remittances against small value service exports.
BB in a circular has on Thursday instructed the authorised banks to credit business related accounts of their customers on receipt of deposits in their nostro accounts.
A nostro account refers to an account that a bank holds account of foreign currency in another bank. ... The opposite term "vostro accounts," derived from the Latin word for "yours," is how a bank refers to the accounts that other banks have on its books in its home currency.
“Bangladesh Bank has taken this decision so that local companies involved in small value service exports could easily bring in their export earnings. It will help boost exports of small value services from Bangladesh,” said a BB official familiar with the system.
In the circular the central bank has also sought opinions from stakeholders on inward remittances against service income through online payment gateway service providers.
Under the current regulations, service providers can maintain notional accounts with OPGSPs with only those OPGSPs having arrangements with authorized dealer (AD) banks in Bangladesh.
In the circular BB has relaxed this requirement.
The circular said that AD banks can repatriate service income deposited in their nostro accounts by OPGSPs with whom service exporters maintain national accounts.
In this context, AD banks will obtain (i) detailed information of their service provider customers regarding the notional accounts to be maintained with licensed OPGSPs abroad; (ii) declaration on the nature of services to be provided by service provider customers with supporting information and documents thereon, and; (iii) undertaking from their customers to the effect that they would arrange repatriation of the service income immediately on credit to their notional accounts through concerned OPGSPs and accordingly customers' due diligences and other regulatory compliance will be observed.
The circular has instructed AD banks to credit respective accounts of their customers on receipt of deposits in their nostro accounts.
Export Retention Quota (ERQ) accounts of customers can also be credited up to the permissible limit at their option, the circular added.
AD banks will obtain declaration from customers for amounts exceeding USD 10,000 or its equivalent. The draft said that regulations on deductions of applicable taxes and payment thereof need to be complied with.
Foreign OPGSPs at their option can maintain bank accounts with AD banks in Bangladesh. Service income can be transferred to beneficiaries by debit to these accounts, the draft circular noted.
An official of the central bank said that Bangladesh Bank in 2011 allowed AD banks to make arrangements with OPGSPs to repatriate small value service export payments.
Bangladesh Bank is trying to bring more simplification for which stakeholders' comments are sought on the draft policy.
