The central bank has allowed commercial banks to issue 'Freelancer Card' having dual-currency units with features of being prepaid from abroad to facilitate transactions in the ICT (information and communication technology) sector.

On receipt of the payment, up to eligible portion of the Exporters' Retention Quota (ERQ) might be credited at the options of beneficiaries in foreign currency unit of the card while the remainder mandatorily in local currency unit after conversion at prevailing exchange rate, according to a notification issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Tuesday.

"The balance held in foreign currency unit of the card as ERQ is usable for payment, through usual banking  channel,  on  international  current  account  transactions for bona fide  business  expenses including  legitimate  expenses  for  personal  purposes," the notification noted.

For ICT sector, the exporters are now allowed to keep 70 per cent of their total earnings under ERQ and the remaining 30 per cent in local currency account, according to the BB officials.

"It will help increase the earnings from software exports," a BB senior official told the FE, explaining the objectives of the new initiative.

The BB had earlier relaxed the regulations in support of the ICT sector to help it achieve the software export target of US$5.0 billion by 2021.

Now, the banks are allowed to remit from $25,000 to $30,000 on behalf of the IT or software firms in a calendar year, the central bank said earlier.

According to the latest notification, outward   remittances   from   the foreign   currency   balance   are   subject   to   fulfillment   of   taxes   payment obligations, if any.   

Inward receipts exceeding US$ 10,000 or equivalent are subject to declaration on Form-C (ICT).

The banks will have to report the transactions to the central bank in relevant statement/schedule and online reporting system, mentioning appropriate code relevant to ICT/computer services.

The Authorised Dealers (ADs) in Bangladesh are allowed to repatriate inward remittances against small value service exports in non-physical form, including ICT-related services, through online payment gateway service providers.

"To  widen  the  scope  for  repatriation  of  ICT  related  payments,  it  has  been  decided  that  ADs   may  provide   facilities   to   credit   inward   remittances   received   in   international  card  number/account  against  the  services  provided  by  individual  developers/freelancers," it noted.

Mustafa Jabbar, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), welcomed the BB's latest move, saying that it will help expand the country's overall ICT sector.

"Definitely, it's a great achievement for the sector," the BASIS chief explained.