Int’l cards can be used to buy flight tickets

Bangladesh Bank has expanded the use of international cards for buying air tickets from foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh.

Under the revised rules, resident Bangladeshis can use their international cards to buy tickets for overseas travel even when the airline collects the payment through an international payment system outside Bangladesh.

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The central bank issued a circular in this regard yesterday, modifying its earlier instructions issued on November 19, 2025.

Residents must have a valid visa where one is required for their destination.

Previously, international cards could be used to buy tickets from foreign airlines only when the ticket-sale proceeds were processed through authorised dealer (AD) banks in Bangladesh.

The revised rules now also cover airlines that use their own international payment and acquiring arrangements to collect ticket payments outside Bangladesh.

The facility applies to 17 foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh, according to the circular.

AD banks will identify eligible ticket purchases using the airlines’ Merchant Category Codes (MCCs), four-digit codes used to identify the type of business accepting a card payment.

The ticket purchases will not be counted against a cardholder’s regular travel entitlement.

After verifying an eligible purchase, the AD bank may replenish the amount spent on the international card, subject to its existing arrangement with the cardholder.

Banks have also been instructed to report such transactions through the prescribed reporting system.

The change is expected to make it easier for foreign airlines to sell tickets online to passengers in Bangladesh without having to establish local payment-acquiring arrangements for settling ticket-sale proceeds in the country.