The government will launch a pilot scheme for the Probashi Card next month, offering Bangladeshi expatriates priority access to identity, passport, banking, healthcare and airport services.
The decision was finalised at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday.
Under the initiative, expatriates will receive dual-currency cards enabling international payments and banking transactions, Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Shahadat Swadhin told reporters after the meeting.
Cardholders will be given priority at dedicated immigration counters and access to complimentary airport lounges. They will also receive meet-and-greet services at international airports and discounts on air tickets, hotel bookings and car rentals.
Those holding signature cards will be eligible for specialised airport pick-up and drop-off services.
Dedicated service desks will be set up at public hospitals, while participating private hospitals will offer discounts to cardholders.
The scheme will also cover the free repatriation of the remains of deceased expatriates, insurance benefits and rehabilitation support for returning migrant workers. Probashi Card holders will receive priority in National Identity Card and passport services, as well as consular support.
They will also be given preference in land registration, mutation, utility connections, licensing and foreign investment-related procedures. Financial benefits will include remittance reward points, credit scoring, easier loan access and simplified direct money transfers.
The pilot is expected to be formally inaugurated in mid-August, with state-owned Janata Bank issuing debit cards in the first phase.
The government aims to distribute 50,000 cards by December and 200,000 by June next year.
In the second phase, management and operation of the scheme will be transferred to Probashi Kallyan Bank.
The prime minister directed the National Skills Development Authority to modernise its operations and instructed officials to gradually bring all Bangladeshi expatriates worldwide under the card programme.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, State Minister Nurul Haque Nur, prime ministerial advisers Rehan Asif Azad and Mahdi Amin, and senior government officials attended the meeting.
