Credit card transactions rise in Oct

Domestic and international credit card transactions saw a steady rise in October this year, along with increased spending by foreign nationals in Bangladesh, reflecting heightened consumer activity both domestically and internationally, according to a latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) report.

Domestic transactions in the country rose by 7.41 per cent, reaching over Tk 28.66 billion from Tk 26.68 billion in September. Similarly, international transactions by Bangladeshi cardholders outside the country experienced an 18.56 per cent surge, totalling Tk 4.98 billion in October compared to Tk 4.20 billion in the previous month.

In parallel, transactions using foreign-issued credit cards in Bangladesh also witnessed notable growth. The total transactions reached Tk 1.29 billion in October, marking a 15.89 per cent increase from Tk 1.11 billion in September.

A comparative analysis reveals that Bangladeshi credit cardholders conducted transactions abroad that were nearly 3.86 times higher in value than those made by foreign nationals within Bangladesh. Among foreign nationals spending in Bangladesh, US nationals led the transactions, while Bangladeshi credit card users predominantly utilised their cards in the United States.

VISA credit cards emerged as the most popular choice for both domestic and international transactions, highlighting consumer preferences.

The report said in Bangladesh 58.60 per cent of the transactions were conducted using VISA cards while 40.21 per cent of the transactions were executed using Mastercard issued by foreign entities.

Country-wise cross-border transactions, according to the BB data, revealed that the majority of credit card transactions occurred in USA, accounting for 16.89 per cent. The rest of the cross-border transactions were distributed across various countries: Thailand (11.42 per cent), India (10.78 per cent), Singapore (8.68 per cent), UK (7.54 per cent), Malaysia (6.32 per cent), Canada (5.40 per cent), UAE (4.02 per cent), Saudi Arabia (4.02 per cent), Netherlands (3.42 per cent), Australia (2.79 per cent), Ireland (2.76 per cent) and other countries (15.98 per cent).

The BB report said credit cardholders engaging in cross-border transactions mostly utilized their cards abroad at department stores, accounting for 29.67 per cent of transactions. Other notable categories included retail outlet services (17.28 per cent), drug and pharmacies (11.42 per cent), transportation (9.54 per cent), clothing (7.75 per cent), business services (7.56 per cent) and various other categories (16.78 per cent).

In October, the majority of transactions among foreign nationals were conducted by individuals holding credit cards issued by the USA, accounting for 25.41 per cent of the total transactions.

Other significant contributions were made by India (11.26 per cent), individuals with cards from UK (9.48 per cent), Singapore (4.08 per cent), UAE (3.69 per cent), Canada (3.33 per cent), Japan (3.13 per cent), Australia (2.89 per cent), Mozambique (2.46 per cent), South Korea (2.37 per cent), China (2.14 per cent), Germany (2.12 per cent), Saudi Arabia (1.96 per cent) and various other countries (25.68 per cent), according to the report.

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