Bangladesh Bank to Stop Sale of Sanchayapatra, Prize Bonds from Nov 30

Bangladesh Bank (BB) is set to discontinue five types of customer-level services, including the direct sale of Savings Certificates (Sanchayapatra) and Prize Bonds, as part of a strategic move to modernize its operations, enhance security, and reduce public access to its main premises.

The central bank's Motijheel office will cease these five services starting November 30. The decision will be progressively implemented across BB's divisional offices outside Dhaka. The following five services will no longer be offered directly by the Bangladesh Bank: 1. Sale of Savings Certificates and Prize Bonds. 2. Replacement of torn or mutilated currency notes. 3. Government Treasury Challan (deposit) services. 4. Providing change for challan-related transactions. 5. Note: The text lists four distinct services, but states "five types of customer-level services." This summary includes the four clearly listed services.

Bangladesh Bank assures the public that all these services will remain available at commercial bank branches. The central bank has also pledged to enhance monitoring to ensure commercial banks provide these services efficiently. Customers will also be directed to the Department of National Savings and post offices for Savings Certificate purchases.

The decision follows recommendations from a committee formed after Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur inspected the Cash Department and issued directives for modernization. A key driver is the Key Point Installation (KPI) security guideline, which designates BB as a high-security institution, requiring the control of public access to its premises for enhanced security. While officials state the move is aligned with broader security, it comes shortly after a server fraud incident at the Motijheel office last month, which resulted in the embezzlement of Tk 25 lakh in Savings Certificates (and an attempted misappropriation of another Tk 50 lakh).

The Motijheel office currently runs 28 counters offering ten types of services.

Post-November 30: o Twelve counters handling the five discontinued services will close. o The office will no longer accept cash for Savings Certificates, Prize Bonds, or government treasury challans. o Sixteen counters will remain open for limited services (e.g., exchanging metallic/commemorative coins, settling disputes for non-standard notes, bank-to-bank transactions).

The Governor has issued instructions for the future phased reduction of even these remaining services at the Motijheel and divisional offices.

As of September, customers held Tk 3,40,044.5 crore in Savings Certificates, with the Motijheel office alone managing over 30% of this, underscoring the public's prior reliance on the central bank for these transactions.