PSD Circular Letter No. 03: Regarding implementation of the Upgraded Version of Bangladesh Automated Clearing House

Payment Systems Department Bangladesh Bank Head Office Dhaka. PSD Circular Letter No. 3/2019 Date: Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer All Scheduled Banks/Bangladesh Cooperative Bank Ltd. Operating in Bangladesh Dear Sir,

Regarding the implementation of the Upgraded Version of Bangladesh Automated Clearing House.

You are hereby informed that the upgrade of the currently operating Bangladesh Automated Clearing House has been completed to maintain consistency with current requirements, and its operations will commence from October 24, 2019. In this regard, you are requested to take necessary measures on the following matters:

1. Local Currency Cheque Clearing: Local currency cheque clearing operations will be conducted by properly complying with the currently prevalent 'BACH Cheque Clearing Manual' and relevant circulars/circular letters issued by Bangladesh Bank from time to time.

2. RTGS System: In the new system, RTGS transactions will be completed in two sessions daily in local currency. The first session will operate from 12:01 AM to 2:00 PM, and the second session will operate from 2:01 AM to 11:59 PM. Debit and credit transactions must be submitted separately via separate files, meaning both types of transactions should not be included in the same file. Inter-bank operations between the subsequent sessions (i.e., RTGS Settlement) must be completed. Apart from this, RTGS transactions in other areas will be conducted through the currently prevalent 'RTGS Manual' and relevant circulars/circular letters issued by Bangladesh Bank.

3. To successfully complete the formal launch of the new BACH, staff of the cheque and EFT processing units of scheduled banks must be present at the office on October 25, 2019 (Friday) and October 26, 2019 (Saturday).

4. The plan for the final launch is as follows:

RTGS 4.1. The last time to send RTGS messages on the old BACH will be until 23:59 (11:59 PM) on October 22, 2019; 4.2. The last time to send RTGS settlement on the old BACH will be until 18:00 (6:00 PM) on October 23, 2019. All participating scheduled banks will complete the sending of all pending RTGS messages and settlements during this period. The RTGS related End of Day Report will be provided on October 23, 2019, at 18:00 (6:00 PM).

Cheque 4.3. The last time to submit morning cheques on the old BACH will be until 12:00 (12:00 PM) on October 23, 2019, and the last time to submit morning cheque settlements will be until 15:30 (3:30 PM) on October 23, 2019;

Page 2 / 2 October 21, 2019 5 Katik 1426

-2- 4.4. The last time to submit afternoon cheques on the old BACH will be until 12:30 (12:30 PM) on October 23, 2019, and the last time to submit afternoon cheque settlements will be until 17:00 (5:00 PM) on October 23, 2019;

5. All other cut-off times will remain unchanged.

6. Except for RTGS, all other operations on the old BACH will be closed from 18:00 (6:00 PM) on October 23, 2019;

7. The formal operations of the new BACH will commence from 00:00 (12:00 AM) on October 24, 2019;

8. Cheque representation will be closed from October 24, 2019, to October 29, 2019. In the case of settlement cheques from the old BACH, banks will settle through mutual communication.

Yours faithfully, (Muhammad Badujjaman Didar) Deputy General Manager Phone: 02-9530611