Bangladesh Bank (BB) has expanded the scope for international card payments for air tickets purchased from foreign airlines, allowing eligible transactions to be settled through international acquiring and payment arrangements outside Bangladesh.
The Foreign Exchange Policy Department-1 (FEPD-1), in Circular No. 39 issued today, introduced the facility as an expansion of the framework under FE Circular No. 47 issued on November 19, 2025.
Under the new arrangement, foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh may accept international card payments for air tickets where the proceeds are settled through established international acquiring and payment settlement arrangements outside Bangladesh.
The facility, however, applies only to foreign airlines. Bangladeshi airlines will continue to follow the existing local settlement and domestic acquiring arrangements for international ticket sales originating from Bangladesh.
A key provision of the circular is that eligible ticket purchases will be treated outside the individual annual travel entitlement. This means such purchases will not be adjusted against the standard annual travel quota of an individual.
Bangladesh Bank has also prescribed a post-facto card replenishment mechanism for the transactions. Authorized Dealers (ADs) may replenish an international card only after verifying the ticket purchase against the card statement and confirming that the transaction falls under the eligible Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) specified by the central bank.
The eligible foreign airlines include Air India, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi
Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines and Air Arabia.
According to the circular, ADs must report all ticket purchases made under the facility through Bangladesh Bank's Transaction Monitoring (TM) module.
The central bank also directed Authorized Dealers to ensure that the provisions of FE Circular No. 47 of 2025, insofar as they have not been specifically modified, continue to apply. This includes relevant documentation, verification and compliance requirements.
In addition, foreign airlines receiving ticket proceeds through offshore settlement arrangements will have to account for those proceeds in calculating their remittable surplus earnings. The amounts settled outside
Bangladesh cannot be claimed again as part of their regular profit remittances.
The adjustment will have to be made in accordance with the audit requirements under Part-B of FEPD-1 Circular No. 08, issued on May 7, 2026.
Bangladesh Bank instructed ADs to inform their customers and corporate constituents about the revised arrangement and ensure compliance with the applicable foreign-exchange regulations.