Foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh will now be able to accept international card payments for air tickets, with the proceeds settled through international acquiring and payment arrangements outside the country, under a new Bangladesh Bank (BB) directive.

The Foreign Exchange Policy Department-1 (FEPD-1) of the central bank introduced the facility in Circular No. 39 issued today, expanding the framework set out in FE Circular No. 47 of November 19, 2025.

The facility 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.

The eligible foreign airlines are 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, Sri Lankan Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, and Air Arabia.

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 a passenger's standard annual travel quota.

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.

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 ADs 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 that receive ticket proceeds through offshore settlement arrangements will have to account for those proceeds when 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.

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