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Both domestic credit-card usage within Bangladesh and international credit-card spending by Bangladeshi nationals declined in February 2025 compared to the previous month, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
However, credit card usage by foreign nationals in Bangladesh saw a slight increase in February compared to that of the previous month.
Domestic transactions within Bangladesh witnessed a decline of 5.02 per cent, amounting to Tk 29.68 billion compared to Tk 31.25 billion in January.
Similarly, international transactions by Bangladeshi nationals outside the country totalled Tk 3.83 billion in February, showing an increase of 13.93 per cent from Tk 4.45 billion in January.
On the other hand, transactions made with credit cards issued by foreign entities but utilised within Bangladesh increased to Tk 2.68 billion in February from Tk 2.52 billion in January, indicating an increase of 6.35 per cent.
Bangladesh Bank launched an initiative to introduce plastic money (various types of cards) with the goal of establishing a cashless banking system powered by information technology on a global scale in 2012. To support this effort, the Payment Systems Department has developed essential guidelines, including a legal framework.
Bangladeshi credit cardholders conducted nearly 1.43 times transactions abroad compared to foreign nationals using credit cards within Bangladesh in February, the BB data revealed.
Notably, Bangladeshi nationals primarily used (14 per cent) their credit cards in the USA, while US cardholders accounted for the highest spending (33 per cent) among foreign nationals within Bangladesh.
VISA cards emerged as the most popular choice for both domestic (73 per cent) and international (62 per cent) transactions.
Within the country spending patterns of credit cards across different sectors in February, showing that nearly half (48 per cent) of domestic credit card transactions occurred at department stores.
Cross-border transactions showed minor fluctuations over time, while spending by foreign nationals within Bangladesh saw a sharp decline between June and September 2024 before rebounding to normal levels by November 2024 and further it increased steadily in December 2024 to February 2025.
The significant growth found both in issuance of debit, credit and prepaid cards (137 per cent) and the total transaction volume through these three types of cards (170 per cent) over the last five-year period.
In February 2025, the majority of transactions by foreign nationals were carried out by individuals holding credit cards issued by the USA, representing 32.93 per cent of the total.
Other significant contributions came from the UK (10.06 per cent), India (6.10 per cent), Mozambique (5.46 per cent), Australia (3.64 per cent), Canada (3.52 per cent), Japan (3.09 per cent), Singapore (2.58 per cent), the UAE (2.51 per cent), Italy (2.32 per cent), China (2.31 per cent), Hong Kong (2.05 per cent), Germany (1.99 per cent), and various other countries (21.43 per cent).
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