Online Desk: Commercial banks across the country will remain open from 9:30am to 4:00pm during the holy  month of Ramadan.

However, customers will be able to make bank transactions from 9.30am to 2.30pm. At present, the bank transactions time is 5.5 hours starting at 10:00am and continuing up to 3:30pm.

The Bangladesh Bank issued a circular on Tuesday (March 5) announcing the new banking hours.

Apart from bank transactions timing, the bank office timing for the month of Ramadan has also been changed.

The Bangladesh Bank circular said the banking office time during the Ramadan will be from 9:30am to 4:00pm. At present, this timing is from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

The bank transactions and office timings will have to be followed from Sunday to Thursday in a week. After the fasting month of Ramadan, the bank transactions and office timings will become as usual.

Though there will be a 15-minute break for Zohr prayers from 1:15pm to 1:30pm, banking activities will continue during the time with internal coordination to ensure seamless operations, reads the circular.

The holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin next week subject to viewing the moon, according to the Islamic Foundation.