BB widens int’l card facility for airline ticket purchases

The Bangladesh Bank has expanded the facility for resident Bangladeshis to purchase air tickets from foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh using international cards.
The central bank issued a circular on Monday, revising its earlier instructions issued on 19 November 2025.
Under the revised rules, residents with valid visas, where applicable, can use international cards to purchase tickets for overseas travel. Previously, the facility applied only when ticket-sale proceeds were settled through authorised dealer (AD) banks in Bangladesh.
The new circular also allows such purchases when foreign airlines settle payments through their established international acquiring and payment arrangements outside Bangladesh.
The facility covers 17 foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh. AD banks will identify eligible ticket purchases using the airlines’ respective Merchant Category Codes (MCCs).
Ticket purchases under the facility will not count towards the applicable travel entitlement. After verifying an eligible transaction, banks may replenish the amount spent on the international card, subject to their existing arrangements with the cardholder.The 17 airlines are Air India, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines and Air Arabia.
Bangladesh Bank also directed AD banks to report such transactions through the prescribed reporting system.
Business insiders welcomed the decision, saying it will make it easier for foreign airlines to sell tickets online without establishing local acquiring arrangements to settle ticket-sale proceeds in Bangladesh.