BB mandates same-name registration for card-to-MFS add money
Under the new rules, which will take effect from 1 August this year, customers will only be able to transfer money from a bank card to an MFS account if both are registered under the same name.
The Bangladesh Bank is set to introduce stricter rules for transferring money from bank cards to mobile financial services (MFS) accounts, commonly known as "add money", amid growing concerns over cyber fraud and unauthorised transactions.
Under the new rules, which will take effect from 1 August this year, customers will only be able to transfer money from a bank card to an MFS account if both are registered under the same name. Banks and MFS providers will be required to verify that the receiving MFS account belongs to the cardholder.
The central bank decided to impose the restriction following a major fraud incident involving a foreign bank operating in Bangladesh, where fraudsters transferred money from customers' cards to MFS wallets through unauthorised transactions.
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Officials familiar with the matter said the Payment Systems Department of the Bangladesh Bank is expected to issue a circular on the new measures soon.
As an interim arrangement until August, customers will still be able to transfer money from one person's card to another person's MFS account. However, a token transaction of up to Tk500 must first be completed during the card-linking process.
Regular transactions will only be permitted 24 hours after the successful completion of the token transaction and linking process.
The Bangladesh Bank has also instructed MFS providers to classify card-to-MFS add money transactions as "fund transfers" rather than "merchant payments". The central bank further said the beneficiary wallet number must remain visible to the card-issuing bank during transactions.
Banks and MFS providers that fail to ensure this facility by 31 July will not be allowed to offer add money services through those cards from 1 August onwards.
According to sector insiders and central bank officials, a cybercrime group in the last week of August 2025 syphoned off nearly Tk27 lakh from at least 54 customers of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) by bypassing one-time password protections on credit and debit cards issued by bank and transferring funds to mobile wallets such as bKash and Nagad.
Victims had reported that without their knowledge or any transaction, Tk50,000 was transferred from their cards to bKash and Nagad accounts in each instance. The money was then quickly withdrawn by the fraud group, and the MFS accounts were immediately closed.
An investigation by The Business Standard found that the fraudsters used SIM cards and MFS accounts registered under other people's names to move the stolen funds.
Following the incident, SCB suspended the add money feature from its cards to MFS platforms.
