BRAC Bank has launched a special credit card for online foreign exchange payment for specific business purposes such as domain purchase, server hosting and software licence purchase for IT businesspeople.

The 'BASIS-BRAC Bank co-branded credit card' will be issued only to the members of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). The VISA card was launched yesterday at Sonargaon Hotel.

One card would be issued for one BASIS member company and would be used only for the specified type of foreign payment.

Launching the card, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said, this type of co-branded card would be a model product for other banks to offer. BRAC Bank has come forward with new products that are supported by the central bank, he said.

The governor hoped to offer similar type of credit cards for the individuals who export software. A generic guideline has already been drafted by the central bank. Now the banks should go for international domain agreement, the governor said.

Rahman said a local bank has already offered international virtual credit cards for students who want to pay foreign educational institutions' fees online. He requested BASIS to come forward to use the idle Tk 500 crore lying in the name of Equity and Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF) at the Bangladesh Bank for IT related entrepreneurship.

The agriculture sector was able to use the EEF fund, but the IT sector is yet to take benefit of the fund, he said.

Mahboob Zaman, president of BASIS, said bad days are coming, as students do not seem interested in studying science subjects. Only 24 percent students showed interest to study science in higher education in recent years, which was 43 percent in 2000.

Zaman urged all concerned to organise campaigns to motivate students to study science and ICT subjects.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of BRAC Bank, said his bank believes that people now opt for automated system for money transaction. He said BASIS members can get the co-branded card on payment of Tk 35,000 which was Tk15 lakh previously. BRAC Bank will introduce electronic commerce platform for BASIS members soon, he said.

AKM Fahim Mashroor, senior vice-president of BASIS, urged the quarters concerned to extend long-term loans for the students of IT.

News: The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ July-06-2011