Three more banks follow Brac’s example
Three banks yesterday cancelled their card transactions with some e-commerce platforms, a move that comes after Brac Bank made the same decision in order to protect the interests of its clients.
The lenders -- Bank Asia, Dhaka Bank and The City Bank-- took the decision after many clients recently alleged that they have not received their products on time despite having made advance payments to the e-commerce platforms.
They paid for the products in advance either through credit, debit cards or mobile financial services.
Brac Bank took the decision to discontinue card transactions with these platforms on June 23.
So, the clients of these three banks will not be able to purchase any products from the 10 e-commerce platforms by using either debit or credit cards.
The e-commerce platforms that face the embargo are: Evaly, Alesha Mart, Dhamaka, E-orange, Sirajganj Shop, Aladiner Prodip, Qcoom, BoomBoom Shopping, Adyan Mart, and Needs.
In some cases, the clients made payments several months ago but failed to get their products as per the commitment given by the e-commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, The City Bank also urged its customers not to conduct transactions with some e-commerce merchants through cards, though the lender did not mention the names of the merchants.
"Transactions at selected e-commerce merchants are temporarily suspended with immediate effect using any City Bank cards," reads a mobile phone message sent to customers last night.
Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia, said they had taken the decision in the interest of the customers.
HM Mustafizur Rahman, head of retail banking at Dhaka Bank, said the lender had discontinued their relationship with the e-commerce platforms for the time being.
"We are waiting for the central bank to take a concrete decision to this end," he added.
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