Foreign Currency Account

Based on the directive from the Central Bank (RMA), Bhutanese citizen, whether living    within or outside the country, can open Foreign Currency (FC) account. Those accounts are called Foreign Currency (FC) accounts.

The Foreign Exchange Regulations 2022 categorizes FC accounts into 3 types: FC I, FC II and FC III.

i. FC I accounts are for individuals living in Bhutan with foreign exchange earnings, including staff of diplomatic missions, international organizations, donor agency offices, third-country contracting firms on government-approved projects funded by donors, Bhutanese citizens earning in convertible currency, and other individuals or categories approved by the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA).

ii. FC II accounts are for entities in Bhutan, including permanent diplomatic or consular missions, international organizations, donor agency offices, certified tourism service providers, third-country contracting firms on government-approved donor-financed projects, Bhutanese manufacturing industries earning foreign currency, exporters to India and third countries, recipients of grants or donations for government-approved projects, FDI companies approved by the government, and any other entities approved by the RMA.

iii. FC III accounts are designated for the Bhutanese living abroad for higher studies, training, or employment, or those earning foreign currency. This includes accounts opened under the Remit Bhutan scheme.

If you are confused as to where would your business fall in the above categories of FC I, FC II or FC III, you can seek clarification from the Bank or the Central Bank (RMA).

  • FC 1
    – Earn 1.50% interest rate per annum
    – Can deposit foreign currency over the counter
    – Avail international debit cards against your FC accounts with the card limits equivalent to your account balance (inclusive of the USD 1000 card limit)
    – Withdraw the amount in Ngultrum any time when you need
    – Avail Travel Cash Allowance of USD 3,000 per travel (previously the ATS of USD 3,000 was allowed annually)
    – Remit monthly student allowances to your family members pursuing studies abroad (USD 4,800 per month to third countries and INR 100,000 to India)
  • FC 2

    – Make payment of salary /wages and professional fees in convertible currency through account to account transaction
    – Payment of DSA in foreign currency cash for official/Business travel by officials and sponsored individuals/Employees of the organization
    – Transfer from FC accounts maintained by tour operators and hotels (Tourism Service provider) certified by Department of Tourism into:
    1. DrukAir Corporation Limited
    2. Bhutan Airlines
    3. Royal Bhutan Helicopter Services Limited
    4. Tourist Hotels certified by DOT and
    5. Department of Immigration

    And subsequent credits from the above entities FC accounts into the tourism service providers Fc accounts is permissible only for refund purposes.

  • FC 3

    – Earn 2.75% interest on AUD account, 1.75% on USD and 1.5 % on Euro, JPY and GBP account
    – Can transfer funds from FCY accounts into Ngultrum account at the applicable exchange rate on the day of transaction and withdraw any amount, anytime in BTN
    – Allowed to invest in fixed deposits both in BTN and FCY
    – Avail international debit cards against your FC accounts with the card limits equivalent to your account balance (inclusive of the USD 1000 card limit)
    – Allowed full repatriation of your balance.
    – Avail Travel Cash Allowance of USD 3,000 when you travel back from Bhutan

For individual savings accounts, you can open in:

USD- US Dollars

JPY- Japanese Yen

EUR- Euro

GBP- Great Britain Pound

AUD- Australian Dollar

As of now, individuals should avail different card services (debit card) for different FC accounts

Individual FC account holders can withdraw from your FC accounts based on the following conditions:

  • Up to USD 1,000 per month over the counter
  • However, if you have travel documents, you can withdraw up to USD 3,000 per travel. (same applies to other currencies).

For Tour Operators:

  • You cannot withdraw in cash except the DSA paid to the tour operators by DOT.
  • You can conveniently transfer funds from your FC accounts to DOI, Hotels and Airline companies, using BNB mPay
  • You can transfer to your BTN (Nu.) account within BNB

You can deposit in cash over the counter or through remittances from abroad.

If you are already using mPay for your other accounts, you can add your FC account on mPay. Go to “Accounts”, “Add account” and provide your FC Account number.

For Individual FC Account: Go to “Fund transfer”, “Within BNB” and select the Debit A/c (from which account to be transferred) and Credit A/c (which account to be deposited)

For Tour Operators: Go to “Fund transfer”, “Tour Payment”, and chose Debit A/c as your FC A/c and Credit A/c- where to transfer (DOI, Hotels, Airlines etc…)