A new Account Verification System (AVS) is being introduced from today, Tuesday, to reduce the difficulties faced by savings certificate investors due to incorrect bank account numbers when receiving their profits and principal amounts. Under the new system, the bank account number provided at the time of purchasing savings certificates or bonds will be automatically verified before any money is transferred.

The system will be implemented in coordination with Bangladesh Bank and the relevant scheduled banks. The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance is launching the system.

The initiative is being introduced under the Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS) of the Financial Institutions Division. Of the government’s 11 national savings schemes, transactions under nine are currently being managed automatically through the National Savings Scheme Online Management System, or NSC System.

At present, 3,946,224 individual customers are registered in the NSC System. On average, profits and principal amounts are paid every day through around 175,000 Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs). At the same time, approximately 8,000 new savings certificates are issued daily on average. While systems for verifying national identification numbers and mobile phone numbers were already in place, bank account verification is now being added.

Previously, the account number provided by customers was directly entered into the system. If any digit was incorrect, the EFT would be returned, requiring the information to be corrected and the money sent again. This not only caused inconvenience to investors but also increased the workload of the relevant government offices. There was also a risk that an individual’s payment could mistakenly be transferred to someone else’s account because of an incorrect account number.

Under the new system, the account number will be verified immediately after it is provided through Bangladesh Bank’s IT infrastructure and the relevant scheduled bank. First, the system will verify whether the account number is correct and active. It will then match the account holder’s information with their National Identity Card (NID) or passport number to confirm their identity.

As a result, incorrect or mismatched information can be identified before the transaction is processed, helping reduce payment errors and inconvenience for savings certificate holders.