Bangladesh Bank is going to make it mandatory for scheduled banks to take prior approval from the BB while issuing prepaid card in a bid to bring financial discipline in the banking sector, officials concerned have told New Age. The banks are now issuing credit and debit cards against the clients’ accounts with them (banks), but the customers do not require a bank account to avail a prepaid card. The clients just have to deposit money with the banks to get such a card. A client is allowed to get a prepaid card of a certain amount of money if he or she deposits the same amount of money with a bank, explains a BB official. The clients usually use prepaid card to purchase products from the different shopping malls which are allowing the banks’ prepaid card, he said. The central bank has now no idea what amount of clients’ money is deposited with the banks against their issued prepaid cards, a BB official told New Age on Monday. Besides, a chain super shop has recently issued prepaid cards to its customers like the banks violating the banking rules. The prepaid card holders of the chain shop are now able to purchase the products from their outlets through using the card. The chain shop is now holding deposited money of the clients by issuing the prepaid card, he said. ‘This is a clear violation of banking rules,’ the official said. The central bank will primarily formulate directives for banks and will later do the same for other institutions, he said. The BB official, however, said the merchants like chain shops were not allowed to issue the prepaid card in line with the banking rules and regulations. The central bank is now considering measures to take action against the chain shop’s issuance of prepaid card, he said. According to BB data, the banks issued 1,02,787 prepaid cards as of September 2014. The central bank official said that the BB would prepare prepaid card issuance guidelines after issuing the circular.

News:New Age/4-Age-2015