Al-Arafah Islami Bank launches contactless Islami debit, prepaid cards

Al-Arafah Islami Bank in collaboration with Mastercard today launched the country's first contactless Islami debit and prepaid cards.

The contactless debit and prepaid card will allow cardholders to simply tap the card in front of a card reader or POS terminal to complete the transaction, thereby eliminating the need for swiping or inserting the card into the terminal.

The cards were launched at a ceremony at Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka, where Mezbaul Haque, general manager for payment systems department at Bangladesh Bank, was present as the chief guest.

Vikas Varma, chief operating officer for South Asia at Mastercard, virtually took part at the event.

Farman R Chowdhury, managing director and CEO at Al-Arafah Islami Bank, and Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager at Mastercard Bangladesh, were also present.

Chowdhury said Al-Arafah Islami Bank takes pride in collaborating with Mastercard to introduce its first Islami debit card.

"We strongly believe that the card's value propositions will facilitate transactions for our valued cardholders."

Kamal said Mastercard is delighted to partner with Al-Arafah Islami Bank to launch the first contactless debit and prepaid card.

"The launch is in line with Mastercard's commitment towards bringing smooth, faster and safer payment solutions for its consumers and the launch of contactless debit and prepaid cards is a significant step in support of Bangladesh Bank's recent move to increase adoption of contactless cards in the country."