Bangladesh Bank has suspended all forms of direct customer services at its counters—including the sale of savings certificates and prize bonds, the exchange of torn or damaged currency notes, and e-challan services—effective today, Sunday (23 November).

The central bank said the decision applies simultaneously to all its offices, including Motijheel, citing heightened security requirements as a Key Point Installation (KPI) institution.

According to a statement issued last Thursday, Bangladesh Bank noted that in most countries, central banks do not provide such services directly to the public. The move aims to strengthen security and align operations with global norms.

Initially, the plan was to shut down the Motijheel office counters on 30 November, followed by other regional offices, but the timeline was moved forward to enforce the closure across all branches at once.

Until now, customer services were offered not only at the Motijheel head office but also at the Sadarghat branch in Dhaka and regional offices in Chattogram, Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Bogura, Rajshahi, and Sylhet. To ensure uninterrupted service for citizens, Bangladesh Bank has instructed commercial banks to expand and strengthen their customer handling and has increased monitoring to ensure smooth operations across the banking system.