Visa, a US-based multinational company better known for its debit, credit and prepaid card services, launched a new portfolio of services for Bangladeshi customers in line with Islamic banking principles.
Guided by Shariah principles, the new credit and debit cards will offer exclusive benefits to Islamic banking cardholders in categories like dining, travel and shopping, a Visa press release said on Thursday.
Banks guided by Shariah principles, both traditional and Islamic, that wish to offer cards compliant with Islamic banking can now do so in all available Visa card variants– Classic, Gold, Platinum and Signature– each of which comes with a range of benefits tailored to the segment.
These cards will offer customer a slew of exclusive benefits in categories that are popular among Islamic banking consumers like Hajj and Umrah travel, leisure travel, lifestyle shopping, healthcare and retail benefits. Soumya Basu, country manager of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan for Visa, said:
“Bangladesh is one of the key markets for Islamic Banking. Being committed to the market, Visa is constantly striving to provide services most suitable for the locals. With our bespoke portfolio of card products for Islamic Banking customers, we are eagerly looking to partner with banks and bring our card products to more Bangladeshi customers.”
To make life simpler, Visa has also provided a dedicated website to help people learn more about travel, lifestyle, shopping and numerous other categories, in addition to browsing and redeeming offers linked to their cards.
Apart from lifestyle benefits, few issuing banks may enable Islamic cardholders to make Zakat donations. Customers can also avail international offers through the Visa Offers portal.
Bangladesh is home to roughly 35 per cent of the world’s Islamic banking customers and in the country, Islamic finance makes up more than 25 per cent of the banking landscape.
Visa itself is no stranger to Islamic banking and has similar offerings in other markets like the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia, the release added. For such cards, issuing banks can prohibit certain categories like gambling, dating, alcohol, etc.
The Visa press release also said that a survey conducted in the GCC region, it was found that, of customers who held both conventional and Islamic card products, nearly 46 per cent preferred using their Islamic credit card over other cards while just 15 per cent preferred their conventional credit card, making it a ‘top of wallet’ payment option.
Source Pakistan Observer