Using plastic money, Bangladeshis spent nearly Tk938 crore while overseas in December 2025, according to the latest central bank data.
Credit card spending contributed the most with about Tk491 crore, followed by the debit card segment with Tk392 crore, while prepaid cards added Tk54 crore.
Besides, card transactions carried out within the country by foreign nationals totalled Tk284 crore that month, notching growth of around 18.02 per cent year-on-year.
Of the roughly 7.71 lakh credit card transactions recorded overseas in December, settling purchases at department stores accounted for 30.85 per cent.
Retail transactions followed, contributing 16.59 per cent, while payments for public transportation pitched in 12.27 per cent, with the rest being miscellaneous expenses.
Cross-border credit card spending was highest in the US, where about 13.88 per cent of the total transactions occurred.
Thailand came in as the second largest destination for overseas credit card transactions, claiming 13.21 per cent of the total, while the UK catered 9.04 per cent.
Meanwhile, debit card transactions abroad grew in December, with about Tk392 crore spent across some 7.76 lakh transactions.
Availing government services accounted for 21.21 per cent of these transactions, followed by payments at department stores with 17.28 per cent, while accessing private services and cash withdrawals took up 14.08 per cent each.
Most overseas debit card transactions (15.97 per cent) occurred in the UK, followed by the US (12.65 per cent), India (9.29 per cent), and Saudi Arabia (9 per cent).
Prepaid card transactions abroad totalled around Tk 54 crore across 1.41 lakh transactions in December, down from Tk 57 crore in November.
Government services accounted for 24.39 per cent, followed by private services at 18.89 per cent, department stores at 14.44 per cent, and cash withdrawals at 12.27 per cent.
Saudi Arabia took the largest share of overseas prepaid card transactions at 14.73 per cent, followed by the US at 10.67 per cent and the Netherlands at 10.28 per cent.
Back in Bangladesh, card transactions by foreign nationals in the country totalled 284.3 crore for the final month of 2025.
Department stores accounted for 32.84 per cent of spending by foreign cardholders, while cash withdrawals made up 25.13 per cent and clothing stores represented 13.15 per cent of inward transactions.
Cards issued in the United States accounted for 26.04 per cent of inward transactions by foreign nationals, followed by the United Kingdom at 11.50 per cent and India at 6.42 per cent.
City Bank Head of Cards Tauhidul Alam said increasing foreign direct investment would help expand the use of foreign cards in Bangladesh.
“Besides, we need to promote tourism as well as our culture, including products such as muslin and jamdani, to attract foreign cardholders,” he said.
“Banks have already taken steps in this direction, from small shops to large outlets, by building QR deployment and acceptance networks. We are continuing to expand our acceptance network,” he added.
“If the government also takes extensive initiatives and ensures activity, it will be even more effective. A combined effort is necessary from all sides,” said Alam.
A five-year statistical review by Bangladesh Bank shows strong growth in card usage across the country.
The number of debit cards increased from 2.17 crore in January 2021 to 4.03 crore in December 2025, while credit cards rose from 16.6 lakh to 29 lakh during the same period.
Prepaid cards recorded the fastest growth, climbing from 7.56 lakh to 86.8 lakh.
Transaction volumes through all cards more than doubled over five years, rising from Tk20,625 crore in January 2021 to Tk50,044 crore in December 2025, marking a 143 per cent increase.
BRAC Bank Deputy Managing Director and Head of Retail Banking Md Mahiul Islam said the number of cards for domestic use needs to increase and the bank plans to expand card issuance in response to their growing popularity.
“We also need to increase usage points. Currently, QR code payments and Google Pay are available alongside POS transactions,” said Islam.
He added that increasing the travel quota and raising online spending limits would further encourage card usage.
The total sanctioned credit card loan limit in the banking system stood at Tk40,731 crore at the end of December, with outstanding claims of Tk14,113 crore.
Among the 62 scheduled banks and 35 non-bank financial institutions operating in the country, 56 scheduled banks and one non-bank financial institution currently provide card services.
