The web server of the National Savings Scheme (NSS) is temporarily offline due to ongoing work on the National Savings Scheme Online Management System. As part of this software upgrade, both online and offline services, including the sale of savings certificates and distribution of profits, have been suspended since last Thursday.
Director of the Department of National Savings, Mohammad Shariful Islam, stated, “The software upgrade is underway. It will take another one or two days. All activities, including sales, will resume by Thursday.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance expressed optimism about resuming services by January 15. Finance Secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder told the media over the phone, “The service should be fully operational within a couple of days.” The National Savings Department had also shared similar information, issuing a notice on its website stating, “All activities related to the National Savings Scheme will remain temporarily closed until January 14, 2025, due to the ongoing development of the online management system. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers.”
However, many investors, unaware of this suspension, faced inconvenience when visiting banks to purchase savings certificates. Several customers reported being turned away from Bangladesh Bank and Sonali Bank on Monday. One disappointed customer said, “I went to Bangladesh Bank to inquire about purchasing savings certificates, but I was told sales were temporarily halted. Later, I noticed the notification on the bulletin board. If the government had disseminated this information through the media or social platforms, it would have been easier for us to know. Both the Finance Division and the National Savings Department could have taken this step.”
The online operations of the National Savings Scheme began during the fiscal year 2019-20 and are currently managed under the Ministry of Finance’s Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS). According to sources from the Finance Division, the server is expected to be operational by Wednesday, January 13, allowing customers to resume normal services. A notice regarding the server downtime has also been displayed at the SPFMS office.
