Bangladesh Bank (BB) has allowed international-card payments for tickets from eligible foreign airlines even when the payments are settled overseas, widening a facility that keeps such purchases outside residents’ annual travel entitlement.
Under the revised rules, banks may replenish the amount spent on eligible air tickets after verifying the transaction, meaning the purchase will not reduce the cardholder’s foreign-exchange quota for overseas travel.
Bangladesh Bank issued a circular on Monday amending its 19 November 2025 instructions on international-card payments for foreign airline tickets.
Previously, the facility was linked to arrangements under which ticket-sale proceeds were settled through authorised dealer (AD) banks in Bangladesh. It will now also cover airlines that process payments through their established international acquiring and payment arrangements outside the country.
The facility will apply to 17 foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh.
Resident Bangladeshis with valid visas, where required, will be able to use their international cards to buy tickets from the eligible airlines. Banks will identify qualifying transactions using the airlines’ respective Merchant Category Codes (MCCs).
Once a transaction is verified, the card-issuing bank may replenish the amount spent under its existing arrangement with the cardholder.
AD banks will also have to report the transactions through Bangladesh Bank’s prescribed reporting system.
