A file photo shows a man using ATM at a booth in Dhaka. Bangladesh Bank is going to put a cap on annual fee of debit cards offered by scheduled banks as some of them impose excess charge on their clients for using the product.

Bangladesh Bank is going to put a cap on annual fee of debit cards offered by scheduled banks as some of them impose excess charge on their clients for using the product. A BB official told New Age on Tuesday that the central bank was likely to impose annual charge between Tk 300 and Tk 400 for all types of debit cards of the banks in a bid to popularise more the online-based transaction. The banks are now imposing annual charge on the debit cards between Tk 300 and Tk 2,000 which is impeding to expedite the card-based transaction through automated teller machine and point-on-sale, he said. The central bank will also take an initiative to allow the clients to enjoy the debit card service without any annual fee if they make a certain amount of transaction through their cards, he said. Besides, the BB will impose caps on card and PIN replacement fees for the banks as the charges are also high considering the existing rate, the official said. The central bank, however, is yet to set the limit, but the decision will be taken in the quickest possible time, he said. The BB will raise the issue at a bankers’ meeting which will be held on March 19 at the central bank headquarters in the capital. After the meeting, the central bank will make a final decision in this connection and issue a circular to all banks, the BB official said. The banks issued 72,85,805 debit cards and 5,77,864 credit cards and 1,02,787 prepaid cards as of September 30, 2014 while they set up 6,035 ATM booths and 26,140 POS terminals, according to the latest BB data. The clients will encourage more to make their transaction through the debit cards if the banks reduce their fee on the cards, the official said. Such type of transaction will also reduce the use of printed currency note and coin, he said. ‘The central bank will also impose a cap on annual fee of credit cards after making a decision about debit cards’, the official said.