The government is ready to start a trial run of the new ‘Probashi Card’ (Expatriate Card) in the second week of next month. The state-owned Janata Bank will handle the first phase by giving out special debit cards to Bangladeshi citizens living and working abroad.
The decision was made during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon on Saturday. The Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary, Shahadat Hossain Shadhin, told reporters that the government aims to hand out 50,000 cards by December this year and grow that number to 200,000 cards by June next year.
After the first trial phase, the Probashi Kallyan Bank will handle all work related to the card.
The card uses a dual-currency system, meaning it can hold money in both Bangladeshi Taka and foreign currencies. It is designed to give expatriates better banking options, reward them for sending money home through official paths, and offer them special recognition. This project fulfils one of the government’s main election promises and joins other similar projects, such as the Family Card and Farmer Card.
Cardholders will get a wide range of travel perks. These include free access to airport lounges at home and abroad, faster service at airport passport controls, help from meet-and-greet teams, and discounts on plane tickets and hotel rooms. People with the premium “Signature Card” will also get free airport pick-up and drop-off rides.
Beyond travel, the card offers helpful everyday benefits. Cardholders will get priority service at government hospitals, discounts at private clinics, health insurance, and free transport if a worker passes away abroad. Returning workers will also get special support to restart their lives back home.
On top of that, cardholders will get faster processing when they apply for National Identity (NID) cards, passports, land registrations, electricity connections, and trade licences. To make money management easier, the card features direct money transfers, automated credit scoring, and reward points for sending money home.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed officials to make sure that Bangladeshis living all over the world can eventually get this card. He also told authorities to modernise the National Skills Development Authority so that Bangladeshi workers can learn the skills they need for better jobs abroad.
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