Bangladesh Bank (BB) has ordered a temporary suspension of internet banking fund transfers through the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB) for 96 hours as part of heightened security measures ahead of the upcoming national election.
In a directive issued on Sunday, the central bank instructed all scheduled banks and mobile financial service (MFS) providers to halt NPSB-based interbank fund transfer (IBFT) services from 12:00am on Monday until 11:59pm on Thursday.
The decision has been taken aiming at reducing financial risks and ensuring tighter oversight during the critical pre-election period.
Under the directive, all peer-to-peer (P2P) internet banking transactions routed through NPSB will remain fully suspended. As a result, customers will not be able to carry out real-time online transfers, which typically allow transactions of up to Tk 50,000 at a time and Tk 500,000 per day.
Mobile financial services will continue, though under strict limitations. During the restricted period, users will be allowed to send a maximum of Tk 1,000 per day to another individual through P2P transfers, with no more than 10 transactions permitted daily.
However, payments to merchants and utility bill settlements will remain unaffected and can proceed as usual.
The central bank also directed MFS operators to set up dedicated rapid response teams to handle election-related complaints and instructed them to keep all transactions under continuous monitoring. Any suspicious or irregular activity must be immediately reported to the nearest police station.
In addition, banks and MFS providers have been asked to extend full cooperation to the Election Commission and law enforcement agencies throughout the period, ensuring operational support where necessary.
BB said normal internet banking and MFS transaction limits will be fully reinstated once the temporary measures expire.
