Send money home the legal way

Money you send through a bank or a licensed money transfer service reaches your family with a record. Informal channels, often called hundi, may promise a better rate, but your money can disappear, there is no proof, and there is nobody to complain to.

Why the legal way is worth it

• Your family receives the money in a bank account, a mobile wallet or at a bank counter, with a receipt.
• The government of Bangladesh pays a cash incentive on wage remittances that come in through legal channels. Informal channels do not get it. The rate is set by the government and can change, so ask your bank for the current rate.
• Every transfer leaves proof. Proof helps if money goes missing, and it builds a record your family can show a bank when they save or ask for a loan.
• Informal channels are not a legal way to send money into Bangladesh, and money sent through them is not protected.

The legal routes

• A bank: send from your bank account in the country where you work to a bank account in Bangladesh.
• A licensed money transfer service or exchange house in the country where you work. It can pay into a bank account, into a mobile financial services wallet, or as cash at a bank branch in Bangladesh.
• A banking or money transfer app that is licensed in the country where you work and pays out through a bank in Bangladesh.
• Not sure a service is licensed? Ask the labour wing of the Bangladesh embassy or consulate where you work, or your bank in Bangladesh.

Before you send

• Use your own passport or residence ID. Never let someone else send money in their name for you.
• Write the receiver's name exactly as it appears on their NID and on their bank or wallet account.
• Compare the total cost: the fee plus the exchange rate. A zero fee with a poor rate can cost more.
• Keep every receipt. Take a photo of it and note the transaction number.
• Nobody from a bank or transfer service will ask for your PIN or a code sent to your phone. Never share them.
• If someone offers a much better rate in cash, or asks you to hand money to an agent, it is an informal channel. Say no.

If something goes wrong

• Contact the service you used first, with your receipt and the transaction number.
• If the money still does not arrive, tell the labour wing of the Bangladesh embassy or consulate where you work.
• If an employer or agent keeps your wages, or asks you to pay to keep your job, get help. Read the safety centre and report it.

Safety centre · Global Jobs