BB clarifies instances with no limits on int’l card payments
Bangladesh Bank yesterday issued a clarification on the maximum limit for international online purchases by way of using credit cards.
In February 2016, the central bank tripled the limit for international online purchases to $300 per transaction to give a boost to credit card use.
However, there are six instances when the limit of a single transaction will not be applicable when making payments using international cards, according to a central bank notice.
They are bonafide payments by BASIS members (IT and software firms), visa processing fees, hotel bookings and mobile phone roaming bills, IT expenses and membership fees.
The international cardholders have to be allowed to make their required payments, bypassing the single transaction limit of $300.
For instance, clients dealing with any of the six instances will be permitted to pay more than $300 per transaction as per the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions 2018.
The central bank asked lenders in January to speed up their monitoring on the cardholders such that purchase of illegal products and services from abroad can be barred.
In addition, banks were asked to ensure realisation of tax imposed by the government when international cardholders purchase products and services.
This has created a misunderstanding between international cardholders and banks about what the highest single transaction could be.
Against the backdrop, the central bank issued the notice in order to remove the ambiguity.
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