Transfast and Brac Bank have launched online money transfer services for customers of the US-based company, enabling them to make direct deposits into the accounts of the Bangladeshi bank.

Under the partnership, Transfast customers will be able to send money online, via mobile or through agent locations around the globe to the Brac bank accounts of their friends and family in Bangladesh.

The beneficiaries will receive the money in their accounts right away or can choose to pick up the amount within minutes at thousands of convenient locations throughout Bangladesh.

In addition to direct-to-bank deposits, Transfast customers can pick up cash from any of Brac Bank's 166 branches, 50 SME unit offices and more than 100,000 agents of bKash, the country's leading mobile-based financial service provider owned by Brac Bank. 

“Brac Bank is one of the leading banks in Bangladesh and a pioneer in sophisticated technology in serving all its clients, and we are excited to offer our customers the ability to deposit money instantly and securely there,” said Samish Kumar, CEO of Transfast, a US-based company. 

An official of Brac Bank yesterday said the two parties struck a deal about four years ago. Until now, the beneficiaries needed to visit a branch to receive the amount they were sent from abroad.

But under the new arrangement, the customers will receive the money directly into their accounts, which will save their time, he said.

In 2014, the country saw some $15 billion in remittances flow into the country, making it the world's eighth-largest remittance corridor, according to the World Bank.

Brac Bank, the country's largest SME lender, currently accounts for almost 4 percent of the total remittances to Bangladesh. 

“We are pleased to be the first bank in Bangladesh to partner with Transfast to launch an instant bank deposit service,” said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Brac Bank.

The partnership further highlights the bank's commitment to increasing the remittance flow into Bangladesh through new technologies and partnerships, he said.

Transfast is a leading international money transfer and payments company in the $608 billion annual global remittance industry, operates a proprietary network of over 300,000 payment points across more than 100 countries in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Like banks, chief executives of non-bank financial institutions now cannot be removed or suspended without approval from Bangladesh Bank, a move which gives the central bank more power to fight irregularities.

The move comes after CEOs of NBFIs, in a meeting with the BB governor earlier this month, demanded more protection such that their employers could not remove them at will.

At the same meeting, they also argued that the safeguard is important for helping them work with integrity and fight irregularities effectively.

Conversely, the CEOs are now answerable to the central bank for any irregularity in their companies.  

Experts said the central bank instruction will provide more job security as the executives will not be obliged to carry out any unlawful instructions from the board to retain employment.

At the same time, it will make the CEOs more accountable, as, in case of any scam or irregularity, they will not be able to justify their actions by simply saying that they had to perform the wrongdoings under pressure from the board. 

If CEOs seek to leave voluntarily or cancel their agreements with the NBFI before the expiry of the tenure, they will have to serve notices to the boards at least one month prior to their departure, said the central bank notice yesterday.

The chief executives will have to spell out reasons for their decision in the notice, and also forward a copy to the central bank.

Conversely, if a board wants to terminate its agreement with the CEO or instruct him to resign before the expiry of the tenure, it will have to serve notice to the CEO one month before he is due to leave.

In the notice, the board will have to state reasons for the order, and forward a copy to the central bank.

If the post of a CEO falls vacant following any voluntary departure or the expiry of the tenure, the board can promote someone from within the organisation to the post of acting CEO for a maximum three months.

The NBFI will have to inform the central bank about the appointment and send a profile of the employee being promoted.

If the NBFI fails to appoint a CEO within the three months, BB will appoint an administrator to the institution to act as the CEO, and the institution will have to bear salaries and other perks for him or her. 

The central bank can remove any CEO in the interest of the company and the public.

Yesterday, the central bank also issued a notice on appointment of advisers and consultants on contractual basis. It said the advisers cannot be paid too high a remuneration. The duration of their tenure will be one year, and they can be reappointed.

A former director, CEO or other retired officials cannot be picked as advisers at least two years before their departure or retirement.

In case of consultants, the central bank said they can be appointed to help NBFIs carry out specialised activities in areas of tax, laws and cases, engineering and technical and ICT.

The NBFIs should avoid recruiting consultants for activities that its regular employees are capable of doing. The notice, however, will not be applicable to advisers and consultants already employed at different NBFIs.

Modhumoti Bank Limited signed an agreement with Computer Network System (CNS) recently. The Additional Managing Director of Modhumoti Bank Limited Md. Shafiul Azam and Director of Computer Network System (CNS) Md. Ikram Iqbal signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. Managing Director & CEO of the Bank Md. Mizanur Rahman also seen.

Dutch-Bngla Bank Ltd opened its 146th branch at Banani Bazar Wednesday. K.S. Tabrez, Managing Director of the bank formally inaugurated the branch. Senior officials of the Bank and local dignitaries, businessmen, industrialists and other invited guests also attended the inaugural ceremony.

Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday asked the scheduled banks to keep open their branches located in Dhaka and Chittagong cities on Friday and Saturday to facilitate the filing of nominations for the upcoming city corporation elections in the areas. The central bank issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks asking them to keep open their all branches in the two cities on March 27 and 28 as the candidates of the city polls will have to submit their deposit money by March 29 through pay-order or treasury invoice to the Election Commission along with their nomination papers. Banks in the country usually remain closed on Fridays and Saturdays. The last date for filing nominations is March 29. The Election Commission earlier announced that the election of the three city corporations, Dhaka north and south and Chittagong, will be held on April 28.