Deposit pension scheme, or DPS, account holders in banks and financial institutions worry about paying their monthly deposits owing to lockdown enforced to slow the spread of deadly coronavirus, savers said.
Under such an emergency, the depositors fear of penalty or having been deprived of bonus because of the failure in paying out regular installments.
Johura Khatun, who saves money under a 10-year education deposit scheme with Madhavpur branch of Sonali Bank Limited in Habiganj, said she is supposed to submit her monthly deposit under the scheme by 13 in each month.
"Now, what can I do since movement of all kinds of transportation has been restricted for the last several days to prevent from virus spread? The branch is at least 20 kilometres away from my home," she said.
She said that she talked with bank employees over phone, but they suggested paying the monthly installment from any nearby branch to avert getting deprived of bonus.
Like other savers, Nazbiha Akter, who opened DPS account with Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited in Savar, is concerned about the possible penalty as she missed the deadline for clearing installment this month due to lockdown.
When contacted, an employee of Sonali Bank's Madhavpur branch AMN Kadir said many savers called them over phone narrating their sufferings.
"They keep requesting us to consider their difficulty and not to impose any fine. But we cannot give them any guarantee because we have not received any such order yet about DPS," he added.
Managing director and chief executive officer of Prime Bank Rahel Ahmed said they have started realising pains of the DPS account holders under such an unprecedented situation.
"We might introduce rebate facility for our savers for a certain period as many people don't have enough cash to pay," he said.
After the rebate period, the savers can clear deposits, including the rebated one or submit post-rebated one, according to Mr Ahmed.
"In case of post-rebated one, the tenure of the DPS needs to be revised," he added.
CEO of Mutual Trust Bank Limited Syed Mahbubur Rahman said they will certainly consider the situation. "Don't get panicked. The savers will not be victimised in such a situation," he added.
MD and CEO of Maridian Finance and Investment Limited IrtezaA Khan said they started allowing alternative options like bKash to collect the deposits.
"Those who will not be able to submit deposit, we will not charge any penalty against them considering the crisis."
Considering COVID pandemic, Bangladesh Bank already issued circular directing the banks not to charge late payment fees on credit cards until May 31. But it did not issue any such directive over DPS and personal loan payment.
BB spokesman Sirajul Islam said they have yet to issue any circular regarding the fixed deposit receipt (FDR). "But I think the banks and other financial institutions should consider the pains of the savers. I hope banks will consider it," he said.
Executive director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI) Dr Ahsan H Mansur said the central bank should issue a common circular regarding the matter. "Otherwise, it might create more confusion. Some banks can issue rebate, others may not."
Professor of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) Nehal Ahmed said banks can follow the policy as they followed for electricity and gas bills.
"During such a crisis, banks should not impose any fine or cut any facility from the savers because savers are not responsible for the situation," he said.
He also suggested continuation of the same facility for the personal loan holders who also face the same problem.
There are three types of deposits that banks collect from their clients--demand deposits, time deposits and incurring deposits.
Incurring deposits account for around 10 per cent of the overall schemes in the financial system of the country, according to the industry insiders.
