Contradictory orders from the Bangladesh Bank on mobile banking restrictions ahead of Tuesday's city polls have created confusions among the people.
A media statement, signed by Bangladesh Bank's General Manager AFM Asaduzzaman, restricted financial transactions through mobile phones exceeding Tk 1,000 until Tuesday midnight.
"Also no one will be able to top up more than Tk 1,000 in phones," he told bdnews24.com on Monday.
Asaduzzaman said they sent the statement to mobile operators, banks and their subsidiaries for immediate action.
However, things became hazy after the central bank issued a second media statement in the afternoon,  again signed by Asaduzzaman, on the same issue.
"The Bangladesh Bank has ordered halting all mobile banking transactions until 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Election Commission's request," it read.
In the evening, a circular, signed by the bank's Payment Systems Department General Manager KM Abdul Wadood, said, "All mobile financial transaction service at the consumer-level is hereby suspended until 5pm on Apr 28."
Mobile service providers, banks and their subsidiaries have been directed to take steps to this effect. But the circular fanned the confusion as it did not mention anything about mobile talk-time recharge.
bdnews24.com received many phone calls from readers after it ran the first report asking what the Bangladesh Bank circular actually meant.
According the central bank, daily transaction through mobile banking is about Tk 3 billion.
A Dhaka mayor candidate requested the EC to take steps to prevent the 'circulation of money' through mobile banking 'to buy votes' before the polls.
Three city corporations in Dhaka and Chittagong will go to polls on Tuesday.
    ?bdnews24.com