Govt to roll out Probashi Card programme on pilot basis next month
The card will offer expatriate Bangladeshis a range of banking, travel and government service benefits.
Highlights:
- Pilot rollout to begin with a dual-currency debit card through Janata Bank.
- Cardholders to receive financial, travel and public service benefits.
- Govt targets issuing 50,000 cards by December and 200,000 by June next year.
The government will launch the pilot phase of the Probashi Card programme next month, beginning with a dual-currency debit card that will offer Bangladeshi expatriates a range of financial, travel and government service benefits.
Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin said the decision was taken at a meeting on the Probashi Card chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister's Office today (18 July).
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"The meeting approved a number of decisions regarding the Probashi Card. The card will offer a range of special facilities for expatriate Bangladeshis," he added.
He also said the initiative is intended to enhance the social standing of expatriates, provide financial incentives and facilitate international payments and banking services through the dual-currency card.
The Probashi Card is one of the government's election pledges. It has already launched the Family Card, Farmers' Card and Sports Card programmes.
Cardholders will be entitled to a range of benefits, including complimentary airport lounge access at home and abroad, priority immigration services, meet-and-greet facilities at international airports, discounts on air tickets and hotel bookings, and airport transport services for signature cardholders.
The card will also provide priority services at government hospitals, discounts at private hospitals, free transportation of the bodies of deceased expatriates, rehabilitation support for returnee migrants and insurance coverage.
Other benefits include priority access to land registration, mutation, utility connections, licensing and foreign investment services, remittance reward points, credit scoring and loan facilities, direct money transfers through the card, and faster access to National Identity Card, passport, consular and other government services.
The pilot phase is scheduled to begin in the middle of next month, with state-owned Janata Bank issuing the dual-currency debit card in the first phase.
According to the meeting sources, the government plans to distribute 50,000 cards by December this year and 200,000 by June next year. In the second phase, all Probashi Card-related services will be transferred to Probashi Kallyan Bank.
The deputy press secretary at to the prime minister of Bangladesh said the prime minister also directed the authorities concerned to modernise the National Skills Development Authority to better meet current and future labour market demands.
He also instructed officials to ensure that Bangladeshis living abroad are brought under the coverage of the Probashi Card programme.
The meeting was attended by Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, State Minister Nurul Haque, Prime Minister's advisers Rehan Asif Asad and Mahdi Amin, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Mokhtar Ahmed, and other senior officials.
