Personal Finance

Bangladesh Bank's First Rulebook for Islamic Credit Cards Bans Hidden Profit and Growing Late Fees

Bangladesh Bank has issued its first comprehensive guidelines for Islamic credit cards, replacing interest based charges with a fixed service fee and turning late payment penalties into a pre agreed charity donation that cannot escalate. Here is how an Islamic card now differs from a conventional one, and what the new fraud protection and cooling off rules mean if you carry one.

October 11, 2026Read more

Bangladesh's Inflation Ticks Up to 8.34% in September, Snapping a Three-Month Cooling Streak

After three straight months of easing, Bangladesh's point to point inflation rose to 8.34 percent in September, up from a ten month low of 8.26 percent in August, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data show. Food prices did almost all the damage, rising to 7.22 percent even as non food inflation held steady. The uptick lands the same week a World Bank report found nearly half of Bangladesh's poorest households get no safety net support at all, a reminder that an eight basis point move in the national average can still mean real hardship for families with the least room to absorb it.

October 9, 2026Read more

Fuel Price Hike Sends Kitchen Market Prices Higher Across Dhaka

Kitchen markets across Dhaka are recording a fresh round of price increases after the government raised fuel prices by Tk20 per litre on September 21, with traders citing sharply higher transport costs as the main driver. Green chilli prices effectively doubled, most vegetables rose 30 to 40 percent, and staples including flour, rice, eggs and milk all climbed within days of the fuel adjustment. The increase follows an earlier wave of price pressure a week before, suggesting the market has been absorbing repeated cost shocks rather than a single one off jump. Economists including CPD's Fahmida Khatun warn that Bangladesh's official inflation figures understate how squeezed ordinary households actually feel, since food and transport costs weigh far more heavily on lower income budgets.

September 27, 2026Read more

Remittances Hit a Three-Month High of 2.97 Billion Dollars in August, Here Is What It Means for Families Back Home

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home 2.97 billion dollars in August, the strongest monthly total in three months and a 10.82 percent jump from a year earlier. A stronger exchange rate through formal banking channels and the government's 2.5 percent cash incentive are pulling more money through official routes, a shift that matters directly for the millions of households who depend on that money every month.

September 3, 2026Read more

Now You Can Buy a Smartphone With Just Your Mobile Balance , Here's What Changed

Bangladesh Bank and the telecom regulator BTRC have raised the spending limit on Direct Operator Billing by 150%, letting mobile users buy phones, routers and other services straight from their mobile balance. The monthly cap jumps from Tk2,000 to Tk5,000, and the yearly ceiling from Tk20,000 to Tk50,000 , the biggest increase since the service launched in 2018. For millions of Bangladeshis without a bank account or credit card, this quietly opens a new, everyday way to finance a smartphone.

September 2, 2026Read more

Inflation Eases to 8.32%, But Is Your Money Actually Growing? A Bangladeshi Saver's Guide

Inflation dropped to an eight-month-plus low of 8.32 percent in July, and Bangladesh Bank just cut its policy rate. Good news on paper, but for an ordinary household deciding between a savings account, an FDR, gold or mobile money, the real question is simpler: where does a taka actually keep its value? Here is a practical breakdown, with the mobile financial services trap most people overlook.

August 30, 2026Read more