Bangladesh Bank on Thursday decided to allow international credit cardholders to spend unused travel allowance and US$1,000 more for online purchase of goods and services a year.
The Foreign Exchange Policy Department of the central bank has issued a circular limiting the each transaction to US$ 100, BB assistant spokesperson AFM Asaduzzaman told UNB over phone.
He said it will be the responsibility of ICC (international credit card) holders using the online purchase option to fulfill tax/duty payment obligations if any; they should also undertake such transactions with due caution against risks being defrauded by unreliable unscrupulous vendors.
All Authorized Dealers (ADs) of Foreign Exchange in Bangladesh may allow their cardholder customers to use ICCs for online payment not exceeding US$ 100 or its equivalent at a single transaction against legitimate purchases of items of goods and services (such as downloadable application software, e-books etc) from reputed and reliable sources abroad, the circular said.
Online payments for such purchases shall be limited to the available unused annual travel quotas of the ICC holders plus an additional amount not exceeding US$ 1,000 annually, it said.
The central bank sources said they have done this particularly for the young generation, and the central bank believes they will be benefited the most.
Besides, professionals like journalists and online activists will also be benefited from the decision
Source: UNBConnect
