Taka-Rupee dual currency card to be launched in September: BB governor

Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rauf Talukder on Tuesday said the central bank will launch a dual currency card of Bangladeshi Taka and Indian Rupee from September.

The central bank governor said this while addressing at the inaugural ceremony to introduce the rupee as a means of transactions in bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India at Le Meridian Hotel in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Bank and Indian high commissioner in Dhaka jointly organised the event.

Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Md Jasim Uddin were present at the event.

The Bangladesh Bank governor said, “We are in the middle of a process to introduce a taka-rupee dual currency card and it will be launched in September.”

The decision to introduce this dual currency card has been taken in a bid to save US dollars, he added.

Currently, Bangladeshis, who visit India, carry US dollars and convert those to Indian Rupees. Once a Taka-Rupee dual currency card is launched, visitors from Bangladesh will no longer be needed to convert currency twice, and the exchange rates will also be saved. This card can be used both in Bangladesh and India.

While announcing the monetary policy for the first half of 2023-24 fiscal on 18 June, Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rauf Talukder said, “We are going to a new debit card – Pay Card – for transactions in Indian rupee as well as Bangladeshi taka.

In addition to local transactions, the Pay Card users will have the convenience of spending up to USD 12,000 worth of rupees while traveling to India, he said.