Both a bank and a licensed money changer can sell you foreign currency for travel and endorse it against your passport, and both draw on the same annual Bangladesh Bank travel entitlement, which is US$18,000 per calendar year for an adult under FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026. The differences are in form and paperwork: a licensed money changer sells notes, coins and traveler's checks and, under a Bangladesh Bank circular of 7 January 2026, may charge at most Tk 300 for the passport endorsement, while an authorized dealer bank can also release your entitlement onto an international card.
This page applies to Bangladeshi residents buying foreign currency in Bangladesh for personal travel. It compares the two routes as the rules describe them. It does not recommend either one, and it quotes no exchange rate, because rates move daily and we cannot verify one for your date.
Dollar endorsement at a money changer in Bangladesh: what the rules allow
A money changer in this context means a business licensed by Bangladesh Bank to deal in foreign currency notes. An unlicensed dealer is not a money changer under these rules, and buying from one is outside the banking channel entirely.
Bangladesh Bank's circular index, read on 11 September 2026, lists FEPD-2 Circular No. 01, dated 7 January 2026, subject "Passport Endorsement Fee by Money Changers." The state news agency BSS reported that circular the same day. According to that report, read 11 September 2026:
- Licensed money changers may sell foreign currency notes, coins and traveler's checks to outgoing Bangladeshi residents against their annual private travel entitlement.
- The maximum fee for a passport endorsement is Tk 300, a fixed amount regardless of how much currency you buy.
- The fee must be displayed prominently on the premises, and a written receipt must be issued for every fee collected.
- Each sale must be recorded in the traveler's passport and air ticket, with the money changer's authorized seal and signature.
That last point is the heart of it. An endorsement at a money changer is the same kind of record a bank makes: it is written against your passport so the next dealer can see what you have already drawn.
What a bank can do that a money changer cannot
An authorized dealer (AD) bank is a bank licensed to deal in foreign exchange. Bangladesh Bank's travel rules are addressed to these banks, and two practical differences follow from them.
Form of release. The BSS report of the January 2026 circular describes money changers selling notes, coins and traveler's checks. It does not mention cards. FE Circular No. 37 of 30 September 2025 says in paragraph 9(7) that the travel entitlement "may be utilized also by way of international cards," and paragraph 92(3) lets banks issue international credit, prepaid and debit cards against the annual travel entitlement, endorsing on the passport the value for which the card is issued. Southeast Bank's dual currency debit card page, read 11 September 2026, states that its card "must be endorsed in your passport against the travel quota for usage abroad." Endorsing an entitlement onto a card is a bank function.
Size of release. Circular 37 para 9(2) set the annual travel entitlement at US$12,000. FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026, paragraph 02, raised it to US$18,000 per calendar year, kept minors below 12 at 50 percent of the adult amount, and said release in US dollar notes "shall not exceed USD 5,000 (five thousand) per person within the applicable entitlement." BSS reported the same figures that day. Because the cash portion is capped, the rest of a large entitlement is released in a non-cash form, and that is where a bank comes in.
The money changer limit: why we publish no figure
Money changers have historically been allowed to endorse a smaller amount per traveler than a bank. We could not find the current figure in a primary source.
The two Bangladesh Bank texts we read, FE Circular No. 37 and FEPD-1 Circular No. 33, do not set a per-traveler limit for money changer sales. Their travel rules are addressed to Authorized Dealers. In Circular 37's travel part, money changers appear only in paragraph 11(2), on overseas allowances for Biman crews, and in paragraph 17, on reconverting foreign tourists' unspent taka.
The press has reported figures, but they do not agree:
- The Daily Observer reported on 5 September 2024 that the Bangladesh Bank governor had approved raising the cash dollar endorsement limit at exchange houses from US$1,000 to US$5,000, at a meeting with the Money Changers Association of Bangladesh, and that exchange houses could accept a national ID card instead of a passport for purchases.
- Coverage in November 2024 described a Bangladesh Bank circular setting a different money changer figure. We could not open those reports or that circular's text.
A legal ceiling on money should come from the regulator, so we state no money changer limit. A licensed money changer should be able to tell you what limit it applies and which circular it relies on.
Both routes check your history first
Neither a bank nor a money changer is supposed to take your word for how much of the year you have used.
For banks, Circular 37 para 9(8)(d) requires the bank to check the amount "endorsed/issued (in the forms of cash, international card, etc.) so far during the current calendar year against annual travel quota" before releasing more. Dhaka Tribune reported on 8 February 2023 that Bangladesh Bank instructed AD banks and money changers to verify the dollars already spent against a traveler's passport before a fresh endorsement, using three systems:
- the Online TM Form Monitoring System (OTFMS)
- the International Card Monitoring System (ICMS)
- the Online Money Changer Monitoring System (OMCMS)
In practice, a purchase at a money changer shows up for your bank, and a card spend through your bank shows up for a money changer. Splitting purchases between the two does not create a second entitlement.
Side by side
| Question | Authorized dealer bank | Licensed money changer |
|---|---|---|
| Draws on your annual travel entitlement? | Yes | Yes |
| Records the sale against your passport? | Yes, on the passport and air ticket (where applicable) in indelible ink (Circular 37, para 9(8)(c)) | Yes, in the passport and air ticket, with seal and signature (BSS, 7 January 2026) |
| Can release onto an international card? | Yes, where the bank issues one (Circular 37, paras 9(7) and 92(3)) | Not described in the rules we read |
| Endorsement fee | Set by the bank; we found no Bangladesh Bank cap for banks | Maximum Tk 300 (FEPD-2 Circular No. 01, 7 January 2026, as reported by BSS) |
| Checks prior use against your passport? | Yes (Circular 37, para 9(8)(d)) | Yes, through OMCMS and the other systems (2023 reporting) |
| Per-traveler limit | The annual entitlement, US$18,000 for adults, with US dollar notes capped at US$5,000 per person within it (Circular 33, para 02) | Not set in Circular 37 or Circular 33; the money changer can say what it applies |
| Exchange rate | Set by the bank on the day | Set by the money changer on the day |
The catch readers ask about
The question behind this comparison is simple: the money changer is faster, so is there a catch? Based on the rules, three things are worth knowing. None of them is a reason to choose one route over the other. They are what to check.
Licensing. The rules above apply to licensed money changers. The fee cap, the receipt, the seal and the monitoring system all assume a licensed business.
The receipt and the endorsement. The January 2026 circular, as BSS reported it, requires a written receipt for the fee and a record in your passport and ticket. A purchase with no endorsement is not an endorsement.
What happens next time. A money changer's sale is recorded in OMCMS, according to the 2023 reporting. It counts against your year when you next go to a bank.
Before you go to either one
Bring your passport and your ticket, since the record goes on both. The full document picture, including what a bank copies, is on our separate page on endorsement documents. If this is your first trip abroad, the currency step is one line in our first international trip from Bangladesh checklist.
Two related rules are separate from endorsement. The government charge on international departures is a tax, not a currency entitlement, and our explainer on who pays Bangladesh travel tax covers it. Unspent foreign cash you bring home falls under the incoming rules, which are covered in our guide to declaring foreign currency on Form FMJ.
If your passport is close to expiry, how a new passport interacts with an existing endorsement record is a question for your bank. Our guide to e-passport renewal timing covers the renewal itself.
Nothing on this page is financial or legal advice. Confirm current limits and fees with your bank or money changer and with Bangladesh Bank's circular index before you travel.
FAQ
Can a money changer endorse dollars on my passport in Bangladesh?
Yes, if it is licensed by Bangladesh Bank. The BSS report of a 7 January 2026 circular says licensed money changers sell currency to outgoing residents against their annual private travel entitlement and must record each sale in the passport and air ticket.
How much can a money changer charge for passport endorsement?
At most Tk 300 per endorsement, under FEPD-2 Circular No. 01 of 7 January 2026 as reported by BSS on that date. The fee must be displayed and receipted.
How much can I buy from a money changer?
We found no money changer limit in FE Circular No. 37 or FEPD-1 Circular No. 33, and press reports from 2024 give different figures, so we state none. Whatever the money changer's own limit, the purchase counts against your annual entitlement. A licensed money changer can say which circular it applies.
Does buying from a money changer use up my bank travel quota?
Yes. Both draw on the same annual entitlement, which FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 of 6 September 2026 sets at US$18,000 per calendar year for adults and 50 percent of that for minors below 12. Banks must check prior use before releasing more (Circular 37, para 9(8)(d)), and 2023 reporting says money changers check through Bangladesh Bank's monitoring systems too.
Sources read on 11 September 2026: the text of Bangladesh Bank FEPD-1 Circular No. 33 (6 September 2026) and FE Circular No. 37 (30 September 2025), read from Bangladesh Bank's PDFs; the Bangladesh Bank circular index; the BSS reports of 7 January 2026 (money changer endorsement fee) and 6 September 2026 (travel entitlement); the Daily Observer report of 5 September 2024; the Dhaka Tribune report of 8 February 2023; Southeast Bank's dual currency debit card page.