Savings Certificates and Prize Bonds to End from 30th November

Bangladesh Bank has decided to discontinue five services previously available to the public, including savings certificates and prize bonds. The services affected include the exchange of torn or damaged notes, government challan services, and payment of challan-related cash. From 30 November, Bangladesh Bank’s Motijheel office will initially stop providing these services, with other departmental offices across the country following in due course.

Despite the closure at the central bank, customers will still be able to access these services through commercial bank branches. Bangladesh Bank will intensify oversight to ensure that commercial banks continue to provide these services without disruption.

Bank sources explained that the decision has been made to reduce security risks, modernise bank facilities, and enhance vault operations. Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, confirmed that these retail services will cease at the Motijheel headquarters and other branches from 30 November. The Ministry of Finance has been informed, and a public notice will be issued soon.

Currently, Bangladesh Bank operates 28 counters offering ten types of services on behalf of the government. The five services to be discontinued are: exchange of savings certificates, prize bond sales, replacement of faulty notes, exchange of PADs, and payment of challan-related cash. Twelve counters used for these services will also close. However, an internal counter will remain for official transactions involving savings certificates, prize bonds, or challans.

The decision follows a series of meetings over the past few months. On 22 June, the Governor inspected the cash division of the main bank building and identified several security concerns. Subsequent committee reports highlighted risks posed by large public gatherings within the bank, noting previous incidents such as reserve hacking, savings certificate fraud, unauthorised photography, and confrontations with security personnel.

The report emphasised that services like savings certificate and prize bond sales can easily be provided through over 60 commercial bank branches nationwide, as is common practice globally. Existing savings certificates will continue to be serviced until maturity, but no reinvestment will be possible after expiry. Routine account updates, nominee changes, early encashment, and legal processes will remain unaffected. Bangladesh Bank remains a high-security facility, and the move is part of broader efforts to safeguard sensitive operations and control public access.