Prize Bond and Savings Certificate Services Shifted to Commercial Banks Following BB Directive

The Bangladesh Bank has directed all scheduled banks to submit information on prize bond purchases, sales and award claims directly to the central bank. In a circular issued on 2 December, the central bank’s Debt Management Department stated that scheduled banks must collect and verify all required documents related to prize bond transactions and prize claim applications before sending them to the respective regional offices of Bangladesh Bank.

A senior official of the central bank told The Business Standard that scheduled banks will now directly handle all prize bond-related dealings with the central bank. Previously, Bangladesh Bank itself processed documents related to prize bonds, but the responsibility has now been shifted entirely to the scheduled banks. The official added that the central bank will no longer engage in any customer-facing services.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh Bank discontinued several public services, including the sale of savings certificates and prize bonds, the exchange of damaged banknotes and automated challan services across all its branches. As a result, these services are no longer available at the central bank’s offices in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Bogura, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal and Rangpur.

According to the central bank, no central bank in the world provides such direct services to the public. Additionally, as Bangladesh Bank is designated a Key Point Installation (KPI), the withdrawal of these services was deemed necessary for security reasons.

For decades, people accessed these services at the Bangladesh Bank head office in Motijheel and its regional branches. However, from now on, all such services are to be handled exclusively through commercial banks across the country.

The circular also states that scheduled banks will now take full responsibility for the sale of savings certificates, replacing Bangladesh Bank in this function as well. Officials expect that the shift will widen service access nationwide and strengthen the central bank’s regulatory focus.

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