Visa witnesses over 25% surge in digital payments in Bangladesh during Ramadan

Consumers in Bangladesh showed robust spending on e-commerce during Ramadan 2024, resulting in a 25% growth in digital payments during the holy month, particularly through cards, American multinational payment card services corporation Visa said today (22 May).

Of the total digital payments during Ramadan, nearly 70% came through e-commerce, Visa said in a press statement.

During Ramadan, retail spending picked up pace with consumers exercising their purchasing power and paying through both debit and credit cards.

A healthy growth in both online and in-store digital payments signals that people are opting for safer and more convenient transactions by using cards.

"It is exciting to see the speedy adoption of card payments by consumers," said Sabbir Ahmed, country manager, Bangladesh, Nepal, & Bhutan, Visa.

"We expect this momentum in digital payment usage to continue during Eid-ul-Adha and with the parallel growth of credit and debit card use, it underscores the confidence and trust people place in Visa," he added.

Visa Consulting & Analytics shared that during the holy period of Ramadan 2024, people transacted more online as compared to in-store (face-to-face) shopping.

This year, the share of e-commerce in overall spending rose by 6 percentage points over 2023, with Visa cardholders spending most on travel, education, and utilities.

Visa also observed that both online and in-store spends increased, by nearly 50% and 15% respectively, and almost 70% of in-store shopping happened on credit cards.

However, on the days preceding Eid, more than 60% of spending happened in stores; apparel, supermarkets and variety stores, mobile phones and accessories and other retail outlets contributed to 65% of these total in-store spends.

"The young tech-savvy population, high smartphone adoption and government initiatives favouring digital transformation are creating a promising future for Bangladesh.

"While cash used to be the primary mode of payment, there is a clear shift underway, and we are delighted to help power this change towards becoming Smart Bangladesh," said Sabbir Ahmed.

"We continuously work with our bank and merchant partners to increase card usage and acceptance innovatively, so that consumers nationwide can use their Visa cards anywhere at any time – conveniently, easily, and safely," he added.