Prefunding BDT payouts in Bangladesh
Prefunding payouts in Bangladesh means holding BDT with a payout partner or a local settlement account before transfers are paid, so recipients are paid without waiting for funds to arrive. Payouts run over BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network) and NPSB (National Payment Switch Bangladesh). There are 13 weekday bank closures in Bangladesh in the next 12 months to fund around. The rules and timings below are the ones that decide how much to hold and when to top up.
Funding rules and timing in Bangladesh
- Under the Post-Fund modality the Bangladeshi bank pays out taka first and takes reimbursement in foreign currency from its foreign counterpart within the time frame of their tie-up, not more than T+2 days; the Pre-Fund modality (formerly EFT) is the prefunded route. source
- Bangladesh Bank's RTGS schedule from September 2025 runs customer taka transfers from 10:00 to 17:00 and interbank taka transfers to 17:15, with foreign currency transfers from 10:00 to 16:00 (customer) and 16:30 (interbank). source
- Since September 2026 (FEPD-2 Circular No. 05), foreign currency remittances received through exchange houses and IMTOs can also be credited to Personal Foreign Currency and Non-resident Foreign Currency Deposit accounts. source
The rails that spend the prefund
| Rail | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network) | Interbank credit and debit transfers, including foreign and domestic remittances and payroll, cleared in processing sessions and settled on a deferred net basis on banks' accounts at Bangladesh Bank; entries that fall on a weekend or holiday settle on the next business day. | source |
| NPSB (National Payment Switch Bangladesh) | Interbank switch for ATM, POS, QR, internet banking fund transfers (IBFT) and interoperable bank and MFS transfers. Individual IBFT is capped at Tk 3,00,000 per transaction and Tk 10,00,000 a day, and corporate IBFT at Tk 5,00,000 per transaction and Tk 25,00,000 a day; Bangladesh Bank removed the cap on the number of daily IBFT transactions in April 2022, and banks may set lower limits. | source |
| BD-RTGS | Real-time gross settlement launched in October 2015 for high-value transfers of Tk 1,00,000 or more between customers; government payments and inland foreign currency transactions (six currencies) have no minimum. | source |
Where the prefund sits
Money for Bangladesh payouts is usually held with one or more of these, each a balance to watch. The full shortlist, with sources, is on the Bangladesh payments stack page.
| Payout partners | dLocal, TerraPay, Thunes, Nium, BRAC Saajan, bKash |
| Local banking and settlement accounts | Islami Bank Bangladesh, BRAC Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank |
Bank closures to fund around
Weekdays in the next 12 months when banks in Bangladesh are closed. Top up before each one.
| Date | Holiday | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 16 Dec 2026 | Victory Day | confirmed |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | confirmed |
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 | Bank holiday (annual closing) | confirmed |
| Fri 5 Mar 2027 | Jumatul Wida (last Friday of Ramadan) | expected |
| Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Eid-ul-Fitr | expected |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Independence and National Day | expected |
| Wed 14 Apr 2027 | Bengali New Year (Pohela Boishakh 1434) | expected |
| Mon 17 May 2027 | Eid-ul-Azha | expected |
| Thu 20 May 2027 | Buddha Purnima | expected |
| Wed 16 Jun 2027 | Ashura | expected |
| Thu 1 Jul 2027 | Bank holiday (half-yearly closing) | expected |
| Thu 5 Aug 2027 | July Mass Uprising Day | expected |
| Wed 25 Aug 2027 | Janmashtami | expected |
Full list and notes: Bangladesh bank holidays.
Corridors into Bangladesh
| Corridor | Average cost to send | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Italy to Bangladesh | 9.55% | Q3 2025 |
| Qatar to Bangladesh | 7.18% | Q3 2025 |
| Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh | 10.2% | Q3 2025 |
| Singapore to Bangladesh | 6.54% | Q3 2025 |
| UAE to Bangladesh | 7.72% | Q3 2025 |
| United Kingdom to Bangladesh | 5.11% | Q3 2025 |
| United States to Bangladesh | 7.61% | Q3 2025 |
Costs are World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide averages for sending the equivalent of US$200.
Size the prefund
Hold enough BDT to cover payouts for your lead time plus every closure in that window, then top up when runway drops below target. The corridor runway calculator does the arithmetic; the glossary explains prefunding, corridor runway and liquidity buffers.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis shows the BDT balance at every partner and account that funds Bangladesh payouts, next to the payouts expected against it and the top-ups already in flight, and warns before the corridor runs dry, including ahead of Bangladesh bank holidays.
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator