Bangladesh Bank has decided to shut down five government retail services offered to the public, including savings certificates and prize bonds.

Multiple sources at the bank said the decision was taken to reduce security risks, modernise the building, and develop improved vault facilities.

From 30 November, these retail services will be discontinued at Bangladesh Bank's Motijheel headquarters and other branches, said the central bank's Executive Director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan.

He said the matter has been communicated to the Ministry of Finance, and a public notice will be issued soon.

Bangladesh Bank currently provides 10 types of government services to the public through 28 counters.

Among them, five services — handling savings certificates, selling prize bonds, exchanging defective notes, payment against documents (PAD) handling, and providing change against challans — are being discontinued. Twelve counters dedicated to these services will be closed.

However, considering official requirements, one internal counter will remain operational for savings certificates, prize bonds, or challan-related transactions.

Sources said the decision was finalised after reviewing the matter in several meetings over the past few months. On 22 June, Governor Ahsan H Mansur inspected the cash division at the bank's headquarters and highlighted some security concerns.

Then, a committee formed afterwards submitted its report at the progress meeting in September. The report stated that Bangladesh Bank's main building falls under KPI (Key Point Installation) security regulations. Highly sensitive operations such as currency issuance and distribution, vault operations, foreign exchange reserve management, and banking supervision are conducted in the same building.

Excessive public gathering in such areas poses security risks. Past incidents include reserve hacking, savings certificate fraud, taking photos and videos inside the building, and disputes involving security personnel, it said.

The report further noted that services such as selling savings certificates and prize bonds can easily be provided through branches of more than 60 commercial banks across the country. It also stated that no central bank in the world provides such retail services directly to the public. Therefore, discontinuing these services would not cause public inconvenience.

However, although the sale of savings certificates will stop, services related to certificates already issued will continue until maturity. After maturity, these certificates cannot be reinvested.

But processes related to old savings certificates — such as changing bank accounts, updating mobile numbers, adding or changing nominees, nominee operations after the buyer's death, early encashment, and legal procedures — will continue as usual.

Bangladesh Bank / savings certificates / Bond licence / Prize bond