City Visa Debit Card Global Usage

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the feature?
A:
Customers will be allowed to perform international transactions (ATM, POS and E-commerce) with their City Visa Debit Card.

Q: Who are the eligible customers?
A:
All City Visa Debit Card holders including Visa General Debit Cards, City Alo Visa Debit Cards and City Visa Islamic Debit Cards issued against local currency Current/Savings account (CASA). This service is currently unavailable for Islamic account holders.

Q: Are customers allowed to perform international transaction from their BDT account?
A:
Yes, customers can perform international transactions with their existing City Visa Debit Card issued against BDT CASA. They do not need to replace their existing Debit Cards.

Q: How can customers avail this feature?
A:
Customers can perform the transaction just by endorsing their passports with their City Visa Debit Cards against Travel Quota limit.

Q: What are the fees and charges of international transactions using City Visa Debit Card?
A:
There is no additional charge to perform POS/E-commerce transactions made in USD. For foreign ATM withdrawal, USD 2.75 will be charged per transaction. However, if the transaction is made in any other foreign currency except USD, 3% markup fee will be charged on transaction volume. The following table and the subsequent examples describe fees and charges in detail:

Transaction Type
Transaction Currency Fee & Charges Type ATM POS Ecommerce
USD Currency Conversion Markup Fee Free Free Free
Foreign ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee USD 2.75/Txn N/A N/A
Other than USD Currency Conversion Markup Fee 3.00%+VAT 3.00%+VAT 3.00%+VAT
Foreign ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee USD 2.75/Txn N/A N/A


Also, as per Bangladesh Bank and NBR guideline, 15% VAT will be charged on applicable cases.

Example 1: In case of POS or E-commerce transaction of INR 5, customers will be charged INR 0.15 (INR 5 x 3%) as Currency Conversion Markup Fee and INR 0.0225 (INR 0.15x15%) as VAT on markup fee; in total customer's account will be debited by equivalent BDT amount of INR 5.1725.

Example 2: In case of POS or E-commerce transaction amount of USD 5, customers will not be charged any markup fee; in total, customer's account will be debited by equivalent BDT amount of USD 5.

Example 3: In case of ATM withdrawal of INR 1000 from any ATM booth in India, customers will be charged INR 30 (INR 1000x3%) as Currency Conversion Markup Fee, USD 2.75/ as Foreign ATM withdrawal fee and INR 4.5 (INR 30x15%) as VAT on markup fee. In total, customer's account will be debited by equivalent BDT amount of INR 1034.5 + USD 2.75.

Example 4: In case of ATM withdrawal of USD 100 from any ATM booth in USA, customers will be charged USD 2.75 as foreign ATM withdrawal fee only, no Currency Conversion Markup Fee will be charged. In total, customer's account will be debited by equivalent BDT amount of USD 102.75.

In addition, as per Bangladesh Bank and NBR guideline, customers will be charged 15% VAT on transaction amount on specific E-commerce transactions made on specific merchant categories.

Example: In case of E-commerce transaction of USD 10 in Netflix, customers will be charged USD 1.50 as VAT on transaction amount. In total, customer's account will be debited by equivalent BDT amount of USD 11.50.

Q: How can customers endorse passport?
A:
For endorsement, customers need to visit any City Bank Authorized Dealer (AD) branch, American Express Service Center or Citygem Priority Banking Center with their passport and debit card.

Please find the list of AD branches in the following link: https://www.thecitybank.com/download/List_ of_All_Authorized_Dealer_Branches_v2.pdf

Q: What is Travel Quota Limit?
A:
As per Bangladesh Bank's guideline, each Bangladeshi citizen is allowed to use up to USD 12,000 per calendar year for international transactions.

Q: Will there be any endorsement fee?
A:
Endorsement is absolutely free. No amount will be charged.

Q: How can customers enable international e-commerce transaction?
A:
Customers can do that by calling 16234 or visiting web portal (https://positivepay.thecitybank.com/cards/)

Q: Is there any limit applicable for e-commerce transactions?
A:
Yes. Customers will be allowed to make e-commerce transactions less than or equal to USD 300 per transaction against travel quota for any legitimate purpose. In case of transaction amount above USD 300, transactions can be made only in some selected categories such as hotel booking, admission fees, visa processing fee, exam fee, license fee, roaming bill, purchase of software, air ticket etc.

Q: What are the merchants where 15% VAT will be applicable?
A:
As per Bangladesh Bank Guideline, 15% VAT will be applicable for any transaction made on merchants under specific MCC i.e. 7311, 5968, 4899 and 7841. List may change based on regulatory requirement.

Q: What is the maximum amount customers can purchase through POS and ATM?
A:
Customers can perform any amount of POS transactions on or below endorsed amount and available balance of CASA. For ATM withdrawal, daily transaction limit is equivalent amount of BDT 100,000.

Q: There is an initial that says “Valid in Bangladesh only” on my current City Visa Debit Card, so is my card eligible for international transactions?
A:
Yes, customers can perform international transactions with their existing City Visa Debit Card issued against BDT CASA. They do not need to replace their existing Debit Cards.