The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Bank yesterday launched the trial run of newly introduced Automated Clearing House (ACH), as part of its move to digitalise the country's banking system.

Under the new automated system, banks will not need to send their cheques physically to the clearing house at the central bank for effecting fund transfer. Now the banks can do the job online from their own offices using machine readable cheques and the funds will be transferred electronically.

However, the banks can also drop their cheques at the ACH at Bangladesh Bank where the machine can take image and data of 300 cheques per minute.

The new magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) encoded cheques have already been introduced by different banks to integrate with the new system. The encoded cheques will reduce the cheque clearance time to only two hours from the two days required so long.

Initially, the new ACH will run for about 1100 branches of different banks within the Dhaka city. Gradually all the branches across the country will come under the new system.

Bangladesh Bank is implementing the ACH with US$ 8.5 million financial support of the DFID, UK.

Formally launching the trial run of the new ACH system, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said the new system will take few months to be fully operational.

On the first day, three banks-Dutch Bangla, Janata and Dhaka Bank-commenced their online cheque clearing.

The BB governor said the trial run of ACH will continue until all the banks are ready to be integrated into the new system.

He noted that so far 35 of the 39 banks, both private and state-owned, completed all preparations to introduce the new system.

The central bank governor hoped that the rest of the banks will complete their preparations within few months to get the new ACH system fully functional.

He said the main benefit of the new ACH system will go to the business firms and to the remittance earners as they will get their payments within a day instead of waiting for days. This will facilitate the online banking as well.

"ACH system is based on latest state-of-the art technology. It's a most secured system," he said.

The BB governor also said the existing clearing system will also continue alongside the new one.

He said the new automated system will contribute one percent to the GDP through expediting the business transactions.

The function at the central bank was also addressed by Deputy Governor Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui, ACH project director Chowdhury Mohidul Haque and DFID Bangladesh chief Chris Austin.