Bangladeshis abroad spent Tk507cr using credit cards in April
In April, credit card spending in India alone amounted to Tk98 crore
Bangladeshis abroad have spent Tk507 crore using their credit cards in April of this year.
Foreigners in Bangladesh, on the other hand, spent Tk200cr using their credit cards in the same period, according to the Bangladesh Bank.
Compared to March of this year, an additional Tk3.40 crore was spent in April.
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Most of the credit card spending – or 50% – by Bangladeshis took place in India, followed by the United States, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.
A large number of Bangladeshis travel to India every month, bankers said, especially for treatment.
In April, credit card spending amounted to Tk507 crore, with Tk98 crore spent in India alone.
Of the remaining amount, 13.12% was spent in the US, 10.25% in the UAE, 7.96% in Thailand, 9.19% in Singapore, 7.03% in Saudi Arabia, 6.27% in the UK, 4.91% in Canada, 4.04% in Malaysia, 2.53% in Australia, 2.54% in the Netherlands, 2.32% in Ireland and 13.48% in other countries across the world.
An official of the central bank said a Bangladeshi citizen can spend foreign currency equivalent to $12,000 annually when traveling abroad.
"This amount can be spent through cards or carried as cash. However, for card payments, there is a limit of $300 per transaction," he added.
Pointing out that customers prefer dollar payments through cards due to the high price of dollars in the curb market, the central bank official said buying dollars from the country's curb market now costs Tk121 to Tk122.
"On the other hand, in most banks, electronic dollars can be bought for Tk118-Tk119 and spent through a card. For these reasons, everyone is interested in card payments," he added.
