Remit Bhutan

Remit Bhutan is the Royal Monetary Authority's programme for drawing the earnings of Bhutanese abroad into the formal banking system. Launched in 2016, it lets non-resident Bhutanese open accounts with authorised banks in Bhutan remotely — without appearing in person — and has since been paired with cash incentives on inward remittances. The RMA promoted the facility to the diaspora from the start, launching it to the New York community in October 2016.^[1][2]

A single application opens two linked accounts: a foreign-currency account (SBNRB-FC) and a ngultrum account (SBNRB-BTN), held with a participating Bhutanese bank. The design gives migrants a home-country savings channel in hard currency while giving the state what it needs — convertible-currency inflows through channels it can see.^[1]

Remittance incentives

In May 2021 the government added a direct sweetener: a cash incentive paid on converting remitted foreign currency to ngultrum through banks and licensed money-transfer operators.^[3] The scheme has since been enhanced — the RMA's revamped version raised the incentive to 10 per cent, from an earlier 2 per cent, citing its contribution to remittance inflows and reserves.^[4]

Scale and significance

Formal-channel remittances have grown into a macroeconomic pillar. Inward remittances more than doubled in 2025 to USD 342.9 million — roughly a tenth of GDP — with Australia alone contributing USD 253.3 million, and the RMA attributes much of the growth to formal banking channels, digital platforms, Remit Bhutan, and partnerships between Bhutanese banks and financial institutions in Australia. Together with hydropower receipts, these inflows pushed the country's net foreign assets to Nu 190 billion.^[5] A Ministry of Finance report also linked part of the transfers to diaspora investment at home, including subscriptions to the Nation Building Bond.^[5]

See also

• Remittances to Bhutan
• Royal Monetary Authority
• Bhutan–Australia migration wave
• Nation Building Bond

References

1. RemitBhutan — official portal, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
2. Launch of Foreign Currency Account Facility for Non-resident Bhutanese in New York, USA — Ministry of Finance, 11 October 2016
3. Incentive on Remittance — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, 12 May 2021
4. Launch of the Revamped 10 percent Incentive on Inward Remittance Scheme — Royal Monetary Authority
5. Money sent home by Bhutanese overseas more than doubles in 2025 — Kuensel via Asia News Network, 13 March 2026