New travel quota and use of credit card

Much to our relief, the Bangladesh Bank has increased the travel quota for all Bangladeshi nationals travelling overseas. For SAARC countries it has been increased to 5000 dollars and for Non-SAARC countries the new allowance is 7000 dollars; the cash allowance per trip has gone up to 3000 dollars!  

I am sure travellers will be happy with this news. It just goes to show that our foreign currency reserve is doing very well and today it stands at an impressive figure of over 22 billion dollars!

The increase of the travel quota also means you can endorse the same against your credit card for use overseas, keeping in mind that the amount cannot exceed the credit limit the bank has set for you.

Many a times, people have gone on vacations without completing the necessary formalities and have found themselves in very serious situations. Their credit cards were rejected and they were not carrying enough cash in foreign currency – an absolute nightmare! Please remember to go and see your bank manager before you embark on a trip to ensure the following: your passport has been endorsed with the foreign currency amount you have requested against your travel quota (you can endorse in installments).

Most importantly, your card has been activated for the US dollar transactions. As an added measure let your bank know where you are travelling to so that transactions you make are not rejected.

A friend who had gone to USA called me to help – she had gone to a mall where her card was rejected despite several attempts made by the salesgirl. When I called the bank (I happened to know the bank manager) to ask them why the card was rejected and blocked, I was told after a thorough investigation that they had deemed the transactions suspicious and therefore blocked the card.

The particular mall was unfortunately known to have had previous fraudulent transactions and therefore the bank, to avoid any risk and to protect the customer, had blocked it.

I was asked to call my friend and request her to call the bank directly and they would 'unblock' the card. Please remember there is always a 24-hour help line phone number where a person in trouble regarding a credit card transaction can call to resolve her/his issues.

We have to remember that there will always be risks regarding carrying and usage of credit cards and it is our responsibility to ensure that we keep it in a safe place. Do not share your PIN with anyone and most importantly complete all formalities before embarking on a trip.

Once the above precautions are met, I can assure you it is one of the most 'user friendly' items and personally I cannot imagine life without it!