Bangladesh Imposes 96-Hour Mobile Finance Freeze

Ahead of the forthcoming 13th national parliamentary elections, Bangladesh Bank has imposed strict, time-bound restrictions on the country’s mobile financial services (MFS) sector. The directive affects major providers including bKash, Nagad, and Rocket, and will be in force from midnight on 9 February until 11:59 pm on 12 February, spanning a total of 96 hours.

According to Bangladesh Bank, the temporary controls are intended to prevent illicit financial transactions, curb vote-buying, and reduce potential electoral irregularities. While certain routine services will remain operational, cash deposits (cash-in) and withdrawals (cash-out) will be completely suspended, temporarily inconveniencing general users.

Key Changes

Cash-In and Cash-Out: Both services will be entirely unavailable. Customers will not be able to deposit or withdraw money at agent points during the freeze. These options will either be disabled or visually greyed out within MFS applications. The restrictions apply to both agents and end-users.

Money Transfers: The ‘Money Send’ feature will remain operational in a limited capacity for urgent transactions. Each transaction will be capped at BDT 1,000, with a maximum of 10 transactions per user per day, allowing a daily transfer limit of BDT 10,000.

Other Services: Mobile top-ups, utility bill payments (electricity, gas, water), online shopping, educational fees, and government or emergency payments will continue without interruption or limitation.

Summary of MFS Service Restrictions

Bangladesh Bank has assured the public that all MFS services will return to normal from midnight on 12 February. Providers such as bKash and Nagad have expressed regret for the temporary inconvenience and urged customers to comply with the official directive.

Through this measure, Bangladesh Bank demonstrates its commitment to maintaining financial discipline and ensuring electoral transparency, while carefully balancing the daily needs of millions of MFS users across the country.