The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police claims to have arrested two members of a fraudulent ring that specialises in defrauding Mastercard and Visa cardholders by hacking into their accounts. The arrestees were identified as Md. Rabiul Mia and Nazrul Islam, both hailing from Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila, although they were arrested from Dinajpur, said a CID media release on Friday. 4th Joint Coordinating Committee meeting of Dhaka Road Traffic Safety Project held Tipped off, the cybercrime unit of CID conducted a drive in Dinajpur and arrested the duo on Thursday, it added. During the drive, a total of 5 mobile phone sets and 10 active SIMs were seized from their possession. Man jailed for life for killing wife in Sirajganj Most of the SIMs are registered in the name of fake identities, added the release. Several cases have been filed in different police stations of Dhaka city in such incidents. 35 years after Sagira Morshed murder, Dhaka court to deliver verdict Rabiul and Nazrul were shown as arrested in a case filed at Ramna police station on January 23 and sent to the court, reads the release.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Mastercard, have launched co-branded credit cards for the BGMEA members, and prepaid cards for more than 4.5 million readymade garments (RMG) workers. Mutual Trust Bank will issue the MasterCard World credit cards and the prepaid cards by Southeast Bank Limited (SEBL). The prepaid cards will help disbursement of garment workers' wages, the BGMEA said Saturday. The RMG workers of the BGMEA enlisted factories will get the SEBL MasterCard prepaid card, which is designed to provide more convenient, safer, and smarter options for payments rather than cash, it added. Mastercard World credit cards are designed for the BGMEA members and senior executives of its member factories, allowing cardholders to conduct local and cross-border transactions with ease and convenience. Read more: Mastercard, Visa suspend operations in Russia after invasion Cardholders can carry out dual-interface global transactions, which also support ATM, POS, QR, and e-commerce payments along with usage of travel lounge services locally and internationally. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, Mastercard Country Manager Syed Mohammad Kamal, Mutual Trust Managing Director and CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman, and SEBL Managing Director M Kamal Hossain signed the agreement. BGMEA directors Barrister Shehrin Salam Oishee, Tanvir Ahmed, Mijanur Rahman, Neela Hosna Ara; Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Press, Publication and Publicity Shovon Islam, and Chairman of BGMEA Standing Committee on UD-Woven and Knit Md Nurul Islam were also present. Read more: Nagad launches service for paying Mastercard Credit Card Bill  

Mobile financial services provider Nagad has brought a cashback offer of up to Tk 400 on Mastercard credit card bill payment. To avail themselves of the offer, the consumers will have to save their Bangladesh Bank-approved Mastercard credit cards in the Nagad app, according to a media statement. Cardholders can pay their bills through the "Bill Pay" option of Nagad by clicking on the "Credit Card Bill" payment option. They will get 1.5 percent cashback on two cycles or up to a maximum of Tk 400. Read 4 Mastercard, Visa cards fraud ring members held The cashback will be disbursed in two cycles. The first cycle, which started on September 21, will continue till October 20. A 1.5 percent or a maximum of Tk 200 cashback can be availed if one saves or pays the bill from a newly saved Mastercard credit card. Later, the second cycle will run from October 21 to November 30, 2022. During this time, if a customer pays his bill from a Mastercard credit card, he will get 1.5 percent cashback or a maximum of Tk 200. Read Nagad launches service for paying Mastercard Credit Card Bill A consumer can get cashback only once from one bank card in a cycle. But they will get this benefit again in the new cycle. Customers can avail of this facility from multiple banks' Mastercard cards in the same cycle. And in that case, the consumer will get a maximum cashback of Tk 200. Nagad Chief Business Officer Sheikh Aminur Rahman said: "Paying Mastercard credit card bills through Nagad will be a hassle-free process for the consumers. We hope consumers will no longer have to wait in queues at the banks to pay their bills." Read Cellfin launches Mastercard dual currency prepaid card

The Detective Branch (DB) of Gulshan Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has claimed to have arrested four members of a fraud ring for ripping off Mastercard and Visa cardholders by hacking into their accounts. The arrestees are Md Sohel Mir, Md Nazmul Hossain, Parul and Md Tara Mia. Read: Teen gansters stab teenager to death in Khulna On Friday and Saturday, a team of DB Gulshan conducted several raids in Dhaka, Faridpur and Savar and arrested them, Mohammad Harun-or Rasheed, additional commissioner of DMP, said Saturday. As Visa and Mastercard are being used for electronic payment, shopping and withdrawal of money from ATM booths and mobile recharging, the gang was hacking into the accounts of card users and ripping them off for a long time. A member of this gang would collect the mobile numbers of cardholders and send them to Nazmul and Sohel, Harun-or Rasheed said. Read: Kushtia youth arrested 'for hurting religious sentiments' on Facebook Sohel and Nazmul, posing as officers of the card division of various banks, including Standard Chartered and Brac, called the numbers of Visa and MasterCard users. They would tell the cardholders that their information had to be updated immediately or else their cards would be suspended. Many cardholders with large account balances panicked and did as the fraudsters said, Harun-or Rasheed added. "Several cases were filed at Gulshan, Banani and Hatirjheel police stations in this regard. Also, efforts are underway to arrest other members of the gang," the additional commissioner said.  

Nagad, the Mobile Financial Service of Bangladesh Postal Department, Southeast Bank Limited and Mastercard introduced a new feature to instantly pay any Mastercard credit card bills, issued in Bangladesh, through the Nagad app.   The announcement was made during a ceremony arranged at Bangladesh Secretariat.   By integrating the Nagad app into Mastercard's MoneySend platform via Southeast bank, customers will be able to enjoy this service. Read: CMP to provide security to Nagad customer’s financial transactions This service is available to any Bangladeshi bank's Mastercard credit cardholders for domestic payments only. Speaking as the chief guest, Posts and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar said, "It will save people's time and money; making their lives easier. I congratulate the concerned involved for taking such an initiative." Tanvir A Mishuk, managing director of Nagad Limited said, "Our partnership with Mastercard and Southeast Bank Limited is yet another significant achievement for us to enable our valued customers to pay their Mastercard credit card bills at their own convenience, from anywhere.” Read:Nagad offers cashback of up to Tk50 on railway ticket Meanwhile, Mastercard Country Manager Syed Mohammad Kamal said this collaboration with Nagad and Southeast Bank is another milestone in the partnership with the mobile financial services (MFS) sector. Kamal Hossain, managing director of Southeast Bank, said, "We are here to accelerate our drive to migrate our nation into a developing nation by 2026. Furthermore, this collaboration will take financial inclusion a step forward in ensuring that everyone has access to financial services.” This service will ease the interoperability between cards and mobile wallets in the country eliminating excessive rush at bill deposit counters and save consumers’ valuable time. Read Nagad announces winners of Quran recitation competition This service will also enable Nagad users and Mastercard cardholders to save their card information in the Nagad App and pay any amount of bill using their saved cards by tapping the Bill Pay icon on the Nagad App. Customers will no longer require to provide their card information every time they make a bill payment. The event was also attended by Executive Director of Nagad Limited Md. Shafayet Alam, Chief Operating Officer of South Asia of Mastercard Vikas Varma, and other higher officials from the organisations.

Cellfin, omni-channel banking app of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL), has launched a Mastercard dual currency prepaid card. The users will be able to buy from any local or foreign e-commerce sites in both foreign currency and taka. Read Mastercard, Brac unveil Mastercard Millennial Titanium Credit Card Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and chief executive officer of IBBL, inaugurated the card service on June 22 at a Dhaka hotel. The card enables fund transfer to Mastercard cards or accounts of any bank connected to the NPSB/BEFTN/RTGS network. Read bKash customers can now add money from 29 banks, Visa, Mastercard Having an IBBL account is not necessary for this card. One may avail of the card by registering with Cellfin, said a media statement Saturday.

Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies said Saturday, in the latest blow to the country's financial system after its invasion of Ukraine. Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any Mastercard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs. “We don't take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement, adding that it made the move after discussions with customers, partners and governments. READ: Mastercard, Brac unveil Mastercard Millennial Titanium Credit Card Visa said it's working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days. "We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Kelly said in a statement. The twin suspensions were announced within 16 minutes of each other, and they followed a private video call earlier in the day between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and U.S. lawmakers. During that conversation, Zelenskyy “asked us to turn off MasterCard and Visa for Russia," Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, tweeted. “I agree,” he added, before Mastercard and Visa made their announcements. Earlier in the week, Visa and Mastercard had announced more limited moves to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the U.S. government and others. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has plunged by more than a third to a record low. That's pushing up inflation for Russian households, and all the fear has helped cause long lines at ATMs. Many other companies around the world have also made moves to increase the financial pressure on Russia and its people because of its attack on Ukraine. Some are selling their stakes in Russian companies, such as energy giant BP, while others like Harley-Davidson halted product shipments to the country. "This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values," Visa's Kelly said. The moves by Mastercard and Visa could make real differences to their bottom lines. Russia accounted for 4% of all of Visa's net revenue in its last fiscal year, including money made from domestic and cross-border activities. Ukraine accounted for about 1%, Visa said in a filing with U.S. securities regulators this week. READ: Nagad, Southeast Bank, Mastercard Launch ‘Add Money’ Service Mastercard said in its own filing that about 4% of its net revenues during 2021 came from business conducted within, into and out of Russia. Another roughly 2% was related to Ukraine.

Mastercard and Brac Bank announced the launch of the Mastercard Millennial Titanium Credit Card Sunday to cater exclusively to the lifestyle and aspiration of millennials and young working professionals in Bangladesh. Through this card, Mastercard and Brac Bank will offer unique, personalised solutions that meet the needs of millennials.  The card's welcome pack offers unparalleled rewards and benefits, including cashback, vouchers, and discounts on e-commerce portals, clothing shops, beauty salons and online bookstores. Read Mastercard, Dutch-Bangla, bKash partner to make cross-border remittance transfer easier Other benefits include bonus reward points on grocery and online transactions, BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One) hotel stays, dining and lifestyle offer at more than 5,500 partner outlets in Bangladesh, two complimentary visits to airport lounges per year, and 500 bonus points on the endorsement of a minimum $5,000 on travel. Also, the card will allow millennials to make a retail purchase at zero per cent interest. The Mastercard Millennial Titanium Credit Card also comes with year-round offers, including the chance to earn 1,000 reward points monthly on a minimum cumulative spend of Tk5,000 at Gloria Jeans, North End Coffee, Crimson Cup, Coopers, Domino's Pizza, and double bonus reward points on a monthly spend on selective weekend grocery transactions and up to 15 per cent cashback on selective online food delivery apps. Read Nagad, Southeast Bank, Mastercard Launch ‘Add Money’ Service "It is high time to engage the youths, the prime promoters of the digital lifestyle, with the economy and empower them so that they can realise their full potential," Selim RF Hussain, managing director and CEO of Brac Bank, said. "With ever-evolving technologies within reach, Brac Bank hopes this endeavour will not only compliment their unique lifestyle needs but also help them advance in their personal and professional fields." "Today millennials account for one-third of Bangladesh's population. With continuously evolving aspirations, this generation of mobile-first digital natives provides a tremendous opportunity to drive a less-cash economy," said Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager for Mastercard. Read Consumer habits emerging from pandemic set to become permanent: Mastercard "As a technology company in the payment industry, Mastercard combines safety and security with seamless user experiences that are highly valued by millennials. We are delighted to partner with Brac Bank to launch this first of its kind card in Bangladesh."

bKash customers can now add money to their accounts from 29 banks, Visa and Mastercard, evading the risk of withdrawing money from bank counters or ATM booths amid the surge in Covid-19 infections. At the same time, customers can enjoy contactless bKash services like send money, merchant payment, mobile recharge, utility bill payment and many more conveniently from any place 24/7. Also read: bKash app locates nearby agents, merchants, ATMs, customer cares At present, customers of 29 commercial banks can add money to their own or loved one's bKash accounts through internet banking and app. The banks are Sonali Bank, Agrani Bank, Brac Bank, City Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Eastern Bank, Dhaka Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Bank Asia, Prime Bank, EXIM Bank, Jamuna Bank, Community Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Midland Bank, Modhumoti Bank, NCC Bank, NRB Bank, National Bank, Padma Bank, SBAC Bank, Social Islami Bank, Southeast Bank, NRBC Bank, Shimanto Bank, Standard Bank, Trust Bank, IFIC Bank, and Union Bank. Read Fintech MFS: Best Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh Users can also enjoy the Add Money service from Visa and Mastercard issued in Bangladesh to their own and loved ones' bKash account in the same way. A customer can avail of this service from several cards.

The idea of a cashless society is not new. A cashless monetary system not only eases the transactional processes but also helps to reduce the emergence of black money in the market. And one of the important stepping stones to this cashless transaction system is credit cards. The concept of credit cards is not new in Bangladesh. ANZ Grindlays Bank (now Standard Chartered bank) first introduced credit cards to the masses in 1989. The bank was also the first to introduce Visa and Mastercard as well.  Since then, every major bank and NBFI has introduced a credit card system. Read Top FMCG Companies in Bangladesh: At a Glance A simple look in the first quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal years shows the steady growth of credit card adoption and usage. Even in the pandemic, banks have seen transaction levels to be almost similar to the pre-pandemic level. This goes a long way to show that more and more expenditure opportunities are opening up for the cardholders and people are becoming more and more inclined to use them. However, it is not all smooth sailing. Credit cards are, after all, a loan system issued against your card and account and you will need to pay your debt that is your expenditure amount back. Failing to meet deadlines will land you in default and harm your creditworthiness and CBI value. Not to mention, the compounding interest on your expenditure. Read Best Personal Loans in Bangladesh to Make Your Dream Come True But everything's aside, credit cards are still a good option to make your transactions easier. So, which credit card should you get? Let us take a deeper look into the individual offerings against the cards to see what facilities the clients are getting. Top Credit Cards in Bangladesh The City Bank Amex Card City Bank is one of the few banks that offer Amex Cards to its clients. The Visa and Mastercard may be the most popular transaction routes but the Amex card also has its certain niche in Bangladesh for local and international transactions. The Regular APR stands at 27% and the grace period ranges up to 45 days. The renewal fee is slightly higher ranging from 1500 BDT to 25000 BDT depending on card facilities. There is a 5% outstanding fee applicable and there are no installment facilities available with this card. Also read: IFAD names new country director for Bangladesh Standard Chartered Bank Credit Card As one of the oldest and an international bank in our country, the Standard Chartered bank is much reputed. The bank offers a range of credit cards depending on the creditworthiness of the client. This card varies in limits and other facilities. However, the standard regular APR is 26% across cards.  The grace period is 45 days as well and the maintenance and renewal fee ranges from 1500 BDT to 10000 BDT. Standard Chartered provides an installment facility which is a bonus. You can also get an additional supplementary card which is subject to charges. Read Fintech MFS: Mobile Wallet for Easy Money Transfer, Payment & Savings in Bangladesh BRAC Bank Credit Card BRAC Bank is another pioneering bank in Bangladesh. The main idea behind BRAC bank was to increase the inclusiveness in the banking sector by making banking more accessible to the rural as well as economically drawn part of our society. Over the years, the bank has expanded its horizon of service and has introduced several cards. The renewal fee for the cards varies from 1500 BDT to 25000 BDT. However, you can waive this fee by making at least 18 transactions a year. The APR stands at 27% and the grace period is 45 days. You also get installment facilities and the supplementary card with this one is free of charge. Read Mobile Insurance Offers in Bangladesh Can Save Lives Eastern Bank Credit Card EBL was a pioneer of mobile banking in Bangladesh and to this day, they have the most robust infrastructure when it comes to mobile banking. They are also equally adept with their card services. One of the more lucrative aspects of EBL cards has to be the privilege of using EBL SkyLounge while traveling abroad. That alone might incline a client towards EBL. You’re getting a standard APR rate of 27%, a grace period of 45 days, and installment facilities. You can also avail of their supplementary card subject to additional charges. Read Best Home Loans in Bangladesh to Build Your Dream Nest DBBL Credit Card Bangladesh’s first joint venture bank DBBL has been the pillar of ATM service in our country. They have made banking more accessible through agent points and ATMs even in remote locations. Their credit cards also offer lucrative facilities making them one of the top credit issuers on the list. The APR is significantly low at 15% and in addition to that, you get a 50-days grace period. Depending on cards, you will also get waivers on the renewal fee. However, there are no installment facilities but you do get a supplementary card for free. Read Best Car Loans in Bangladesh to Grab Your Dream Car Verdict So far we have discussed the leading credit cards in Bangladesh. It is clear that each bank has services that they are excelling in. Standard Chartered will provide you with a unified experience, DBBL will give you low APR and with EBL and City Amex you are getting a host of transactional benefits including lounge access. However, the issuance of cards isn't the only factor that determines the performance of cards. In fact, it all comes down to personal preferences and your expectations from the bank itself. Of course, other financial institutions are working alongside to provide better services. As long as people aren’t actively using the cards, the banks don’t stand to gain anything. In order to get the most out of your credit card facilities, you as a client need to decide what the purpose of your credit card is. The credit card landscape of our country is expanding at a rapid pace and if you’re willing and your means support, you should avail the services as well.  Read Zero Investment Business Ideas to Try Amidst the Pandemic