Family Card beneficiaries to get TakaPay debit cards for transactions

The government has decided to provide TakaPay debit cards to every Family Card beneficiary to make it easier for them to withdraw and spend their allowances.

The cards will allow beneficiaries to withdraw cash from ATMs and make purchases through point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

The government will also ensure access to the allowances through mobile financial services (MFS) and near-field communication (NFC) technology.

The decision was taken at a meeting on nationwide implementation of the Family Card programme chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on 26 July. The meeting’s working paper, prepared by the Cabinet Division, contained the decision.

A Social Welfare Ministry official said beneficiaries may not always be able to reach the bank where they hold accounts, while branches of every bank are not available everywhere.

“So, the decision was taken to create a system through which a beneficiary can withdraw money as needed regardless of which bank holds their account,” he said.

TakaPay is Bangladesh’s national debit card network, operated through Bangladesh Bank’s National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB). Nineteen state-owned and private banks are currently part of the network, with around 3.5 lakh customers using TakaPay cards, according to the central bank’s Payment Systems Department.

An additional director of the department told the Business Standard that more banks are in the process of joining the network.

The Bangladesh Bank official said the central bank currently charges no fees for TakaPay transactions, while banks impose only small card-issuance fees, making it cheaper for customers than Visa or Mastercard.

Under the Family Card programme, beneficiaries without bank accounts are being provided accounts at Sonali Bank, Janata Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank. Those with accounts at private banks can use them if the banks are part of the TakaPay network, the Social Welfare Ministry official said.

The Family Card is the government’s flagship programme and was pledged by the BNP in its election manifesto. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman formally launched it on 10 March at the T&T field beside Korail slum in Dhaka.

The programme is currently being piloted in 55 wards across 52 districts, with 70,861 beneficiaries receiving Tk2,500 a month through MFS.

Nationwide beneficiary selection is underway based on proxy means test (PMT) scores. Under the FY27 budget, Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury announced plans to collect data on 4.10 crore families and include 41 lakh people in the programme by 14 September.

The Social Welfare Ministry has already begun collecting household data. PMT scores are being calculated using the 2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, which officials say has resulted in some errors in beneficiary selection.

The government aims to provide Family Cards to 1.60 crore families within the next three years.