Credit card usages decline in July

The volume of transactions through credit cards declined in July 2025 over the previous month with its outward usage recording a substantial fall.

In July of 2025, domestic credit card transactions in Bangladesh totaled at Tk 30.83 billion compared to that of Tk 31.14 billion in June, 2025, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.

Of the total, domestic credit cards were used for making purchases amounting to Tk. 28.68 billion (93.01 per cent) Tk. 2.04 billion (6.63 per cent) for cash withdrawals and Tk. 110 million (0.36 per cent) for fund transfers.

On the other hand, the overall use of credit cards outside Bangladesh dropped by 12.81 per cent to Tk 4.79 billion in July 2025 from over Tk 5.49 billion in June, the central bank data showed.

Use of cardholders made about 29.87 per cent of their cross-border transactions, particularly at department stores abroad.

Among others, retail outlet services accounted for 17.50 per cent of the cross-border transactions, drug and pharmacies 11.23 per cent, transportation 10.95 per cent, business services 7.50 per cent, clothing 7.42 per cent and various other sectors 15.53 per cent.

A country-wise breakdown of cross-border transactions revealed that the majority of credit card transactions took place in the USA, accounting for 16.57 per cent in July last.

Among other countries, 11.99 per cent of the remaining cross-border transactions took place in the UK, 10.84 per cent in Thailand, 8.20 per cent Singapore 7.97 per cent in Malaysia, 5.83 per cent in India, 5.28 per cent in Canada, 4.15 per cent in Netherlands, 3.64 per cent in UAE, 3.42 per cent in Australia, 3.30 per cent in Saudi Arabia, 2.93 per cent in Ireland and 15.88 per cent in other countries

In July 2025, overall inward card transactions in the country by foreign nationals stood at Tk 1.88 billion compared to Tk 1.95 billion in June, reflecting a 3.59 per cent month-on-month decline.

Cards, issued by foreign countries but used within Bangladesh, were primarily used for transactions at department stores, which accounted for 27.17 per cent of all transactions during this period.

Withdrawals of cash through the cards by foreign nationals accounted for about 25.52 per cent, flowed by fund transfer with 13.71 per cent.

Transportation related transactions accounted for 13.11 per cent and the remaining sectors collectively contributed 20.49 per cent of the total transaction volume.

Outward credit card transactions by Bangladeshi nationals in India dropped to Tk 279 million in July 2025 compared to Tk 339 million in June, reflecting a 17.70 per cent-decline, the BB data revealed.

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