The total number of credit and debit cards in the country’s banking system stood at 80,85,834 as of August 31, 2013 as the majority of the scheduled banks issued the cards at a fast pace in recent years to meet their clients’ demand, said a Bangladesh Bank report.
BB officials told New Age on Wednesday that the huge number of credit and debit cards indicated that the electronic and online-based transactions had attained much popularity in the country.
The BB report on the bank cards, first of its kind, showed that the scheduled banks issued 72,32,554 debit cards and 8,53,280 credit cards to their clients as on August 31, 2013.
Dutch-Bangla Bank issued the highest number of debit cards. The bank issued 30,98,047 debit cards, or 42.83 per cent of the total debit cards issued by the scheduled banks.
The City Bank Ltd issued the highest number of credit cards. It issued 1,61,744 credit cards, or 18.95 per cent of the total credit cards issued by the scheduled banks.
In 1997, Standard Chartered Bank issued credit card for the first time in the country and the bank also set up point on sale machine in the year, a BB official said.
After Standard Chartered Bank, National Bank Ltd and Prime Bank Ltd issued credit cards and set up POS machines in 1997, he said.
The BB data showed that 25 banks so far issued credit cards and 41 banks issued debit cards as of August 31, 2013.
The BB official said card-based transactions through ATM booths and online increased significantly in the last few years.
He said that the volume of transactions using ATM booths stood around Tk 1,00,000 crore in 2012, up from the previous year’s Tk 68,000 crore.
The total number of ATM booths stood at 5,232 in the banking sector. Of the booths, 1,359 were set up in 2012.
Dutch-Bangla Bank set up the highest number of ATM booths (2,403).
Among other banks, BRAC Bank set up 333 ATM booths, Islami Bank Bangladesh 295 booths and AB Bank 231 booths, the BB report showed.
A Dutch-Bank official told New Age that the prospect of card-based transactions was very bright as the country’s economic size gradually increased.
Besides, awful traffic jams in the major cities of the country also encouraged the banks’ clients to take the service through card-based transactions, he said.
Financial transactions through the POS machines have also increased in the recent years as a number of banks set up POS terminals in different supermarkets, the BB official said.
The BB report showed that 12 banks set up a total of 22,224 POS terminals. Of the terminals, The City Bank Ltd set up the highest 6,911 terminals.
The other top banks in setting up POS terminals are Dutch-Bangla Bank 6,559, BRAC Bank 3,435, National Bank 1,800 and Prime Bank 1,500.
The BB official said incidents of debit and credit cards fraudulence had also increased recently.
To check the fraudulent activities, the BB is going to make mandatory for banks to introduce electronic chip-based credit and debit cards by replacing the existing magnetic stripe technology-based ones, he said.
‘To this end, the BB will issue a circular as early as possible asking the banks to introduce electronic chip-based cards by 2014.’
The banks will have to replace 80.85 lakh cards by the deadline and issue chip-based cards to new clients after the issuance of the circular.
-With New Age input
