Al-Arafah Islami Bank, in collaboration with Mastercard, announced the launch of contactless debit and prepaid cards at a city hotel Tuesday.
At the inauguration ceremony, Md. Mezbaul Haque, Honorable General Manager, Payment Systems Department, Bangladesh Bank, was present as the Chief Guest and Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Mastercard, was virtually present at the event. Farman R. Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO, Al-Arafah Islami Bank; Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, Mastercard Bangladesh; Senior Executives from both organizations as well as Senior Representatives from Bangladesh Bank were also present at the ceremony.
The contactless debit and prepaid card will allow cardholders to simply tap the card in front of a card reader or POS terminal to complete the transaction, thereby eliminating the need for swiping or inserting the card into the terminal. The service makes the payments process for customers faster, easier and more convenient than ever before. For debit & prepaid card, according to Bangladesh Bank’s guidelines, the maximum amount allowed for a contactless card transaction is fixed at BDT 3,000.
Cardholders can make secure domestic online payments and withdraw cash 24/7 from thousands of ATMs’ situated across the country. Cardholders can also avail all of Mastercard’s BOGO (Buy-One-Get-One) hotel-stay offers, dining, and lifestyle offers at over 5500 partner outlets in Bangladesh.
Farman R. Chowdhury, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank said, “Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited takes pride in collaborating with Mastercard to introduce its first Islami debit card. We strongly believe that the card’s value propositions will facilitate transactions for our valued cardholders”
Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, Mastercard Bangladesh said, “Mastercard is delighted to partner with Al-Arafah Islami Bank to launch the first contactless debit and prepaid card. The launch is in line with Mastercard’s commitment towards bringing smooth, faster and safer payment solutions for its consumers and the launch of contactless debit and prepaid cards is a significant step in support of Bangladesh Bank’s recent move to increase adoption of contactless cards in the country.”
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