Couriers can’t provide financial services: Bangladesh Bank
The central bank issues a guideline to this effect on Thursday
Courier service providers will not be able to provide any financial services other than transportation of goods, says the Bangladesh Bank.
In a guideline issued on Thursday, the central bank also said all financial transactions to send product prices collected from buyers to sellers must be made through the banking channel.
The central bank's Payments Systems Department issued the guideline.
It said a courier service company that has a postal department licence and is a member of the Courier Service Association has to open a settlement account in a bank for the transaction related to the delivery of goods in accordance with appropriate rules.
In the account, money collected as service charge by a courier service and the price of goods will be credited separately. Then, the original price of the product has to be transferred from that account to the seller's account.
Courier service companies will match their monthly transaction and balance status of the settlement account with the preserved vouchers and invoices within the first 15 days of the following month and send the report to the bank concerned and the Bangladesh Bank on a quarterly basis.
The money deposited in the account of the courier service can be verified by the bank concerned or the Bangladesh Bank, if required.
If any inconsistency or abnormality is observed in it, the bank concerned may suspend or close the settlement account of the courier service provider on its own initiative or on the instructions of Bangladesh Bank.
The central bank says at present, courier companies deliver goods sold by various businesses, small entrepreneurs and online buying and selling platforms to the buyers through cash-on-delivery system. In contrast, the courier service providers collect the price of the goods including its own charges. The goods are then retained and paid to the seller in cash without banking channels.
In addition, the distribution of price-declared parcels and conditional booking from one trader to another is effective. In this case too, the cash is being transferred through courier companies, the Bangladesh Bank says in the guideline.
"This is creating various kinds of financial problems. In such a reality, from now on these transactions have to be managed through the banking system," it added.
On the other hand, courier service providers operating in Bangladesh will not be able to provide any financial services and in this case no banking services will be available, the guideline maintains.
