Bank Asia has urged its customers to refrain from using its cards for transactions involving cryptocurrency, online gambling, illegal foreign exchange trading, casino payments, or lottery ticket purchases, following a directive from the Bangladesh Bank.

In a notice issued to cardholders, the bank stated: “As per Bangladesh Bank directive, using Bank Asia cards for gambling, casino, cryptocurrency, forex trading, or lottery ticket transactions is illegal. Please refrain from such transactions.”

The warning comes in response to increasing regulatory pressure from the central bank to curb unauthorised digital financial activities.

Bangladesh Bank has made it clear that any such transactions fall outside the scope of legal banking operations and could lead to serious legal consequences.

Cryptocurrency trading, in particular, remains banned in Bangladesh. The central bank has repeatedly warned that digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other virtual currencies are not recognised as legal tender.

Under existing laws, including the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (1947), the Money Laundering Prevention Act (2012), and the Anti-Terrorism Act (2009), involvement in crypto or unlicensed forex platforms is considered a punishable offence.

Amid a concerning rise in online gambling and its associated societal decay and criminal activities, the Bangladesh Bank has taken a firm stance to curb these illicit practices.

On May 28 this year, the Payment Systems Department of Bangladesh Bank issued a directive instructing all banks and financial institutions in the country to increase surveillance on online gambling-related transactions.

The directive emphasises the need for regular monitoring to identify any merchants or customers involved in online gambling. The regulatory body has also suggested leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for this purpose.

Besides, the Bangladesh Bank has also urged banks to raise customer awareness about the harmful effects of online gambling.

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