Use of plastic money on the rise

Credit and debit cards, also referred as plastic money, are becoming more popular as convenient and safe for various types of transactions, according to recent official data, reports BSS.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) regular monthly report for June showed that use of both credit and debit cards increased in the first quarter of this year.
According to BB, credit card transactions increased by Tk 44.75 crore or 3.23 per cent to Tk 1432.1 crore during January-March 2015 compared to October-December 2014.People used their credit cards mostly for purchasing at shops and online, which drove up credit amount payment through POS (point of sale) by 3.09 per cent or Tk 29.56 crore over the payment of the last quarter of 2014.
The cash out by credit cards through ATMs (automated teller machines) also rose during the period though such transactions involve more fee than buying staffs.
The credit amounts increased through ATMs by Tk 18.01 crore or 11.34 per cent when it was up by Tk 8.35 crore or 23.87 per cent for e-commerce. BB data also showed that people were using more credit cards issued by local private commercial banks (PCBs) than the foreign commercial banks (FCBs), operating in Bangladesh.
As a result, credit card transaction for FCBs declined by 3.98 per cent during January-March period though the e-commerce transaction in FCBs rose by 14.77 per cent.
Debit cards transactions in the first quarter also increased by Tk 525.91 crore or 2.55 per cent to Tk 21,152.75 crore compared to October-December 14, indicating that people preferred ATMs than going to banks for cash out.
Most of the PCBs and FCBs issued credit cards in Bangladesh for both local and international market. But, none of the state-owned banks issued any credit cards yet though some of them issued debit cards.

Use of plastic money on the rise

Credit and debit cards, also referred as plastic money, are becoming more popular as convenient and safe for various types of transactions, according to recent official data, reports BSS. Bangladesh Bank (BB) regular monthly report for June showed that use of both credit and debit cards increased in the first quarter of this year. According to BB, credit card transactions increased by Tk 44.75 crore or 3.23 per cent to Tk 1432.1 crore during January-March 2015 compared to October-December 2014.People used their credit cards mostly for purchasing at shops and online, which drove up credit amount payment through POS (point of sale) by 3.09 per cent or Tk 29.56 crore over the payment of the last quarter of 2014. The cash out by credit cards through ATMs (automated teller machines) also rose during the period though such transactions involve more fee than buying staffs. The credit amounts increased through ATMs by Tk 18.01 crore or 11.34 per cent when it was up by Tk 8.35 crore or 23.87 per cent for e-commerce. BB data also showed that people were using more credit cards issued by local private commercial banks (PCBs) than the foreign commercial banks (FCBs), operating in Bangladesh. As a result, credit card transaction for FCBs declined by 3.98 per cent during January-March period though the e-commerce transaction in FCBs rose by 14.77 per cent. Debit cards transactions in the first quarter also increased by Tk 525.91 crore or 2.55 per cent to Tk 21,152.75 crore compared to October-December 14, indicating that people preferred ATMs than going to banks for cash out. Most of the PCBs and FCBs issued credit cards in Bangladesh for both local and international market. But, none of the state-owned banks issued any credit cards yet though some of them issued debit cards.