Credit card transactions up 25.14% in October

Spending through credit cards increased in October after a downward trend for several months as the tourism and hospitality sector picked up in the year-end period. Credit card transactions collectively stood at Tk 2,458.20 crore in October of this year, up from Tk 2,281.8 crore a month ago, as per the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.

The credit card transaction rose by 25.14 per cent in October compared to year on year. Such a transaction was at Tk 1,964.3 crore in October of last year.

Credit card spending is growing rapidly to keep pace with the acceleration of digital payment, said Ahsan Ullah Chowdhury, head of digital financial services at Eastern Bank Ltd.

Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) has almost five lakh cards including around two lakh credit cards. The bank is offering four products – Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Diners Club.

He said that credit card use in the international segment had fallen drastically during the pandemic but now the segment bounced back.

Transactions through credit cards had fallen in August and September of this year as some cardholders are cutting down their spending while some are maxing out their limit amid the dollar crisis.

Bangladeshi nationals are allowed to spend a maximum of $12,000 per year outside the country through credit cards or cash, as per the central bank regulations. Credit card transactions were at Tk 2,578 crore in July and Tk 2,302 crore in August.

Industry insiders said that now the country’s foreign exchange market is very unstable due to the USD shortage.

Most of the banks are facing difficulties to settle import payments of emergency goods, as a result, such transactions are not rising rapidly, they added.

Now the total number of credit cards in the country stands at 39 lakh 41 thousand 642, as per the BB data.