Exploring cashless travel for a stress-free Eid holiday

The most awaited festival of the year, Eid-ul-Fitr, is just around the corner! It's time to gear up and celebrate this joyous occasion in style. Dive headfirst into the cashless trend and make the most of the exhilarating offers and discounts presented by banks and financial institutions. With amazing gifts up for grabs, it's the perfect time to spread joy and cheer among your loved ones.

During this year's Ramadan and Eid celebrations, Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) has emerged as a prominent player in promoting cashless transactions, as per Tasnim Hossain, head of cards at EBL. The bank has a vast portfolio of credit, debit, and prepaid cards and has taken initiatives to promote QR transactions under the guidance of Bangladesh Bank, aiming to achieve a Cashless Bangladesh.

According to Hossain, EBL has been offering special promotions at various grocery merchants, such as 5% cashback at grocery stores for VISA credit card users, and 5% cashback at Meena Bazar, Agora, and Shwapno for Diners Club International credit card users. Furthermore, EBL is also offering 5 times skycoins on grocery purchases during weekends for cashless transactions.

In addition, EBL is providing attractive cashback offers for Eid shopping, including up to Tk 5,000 cashback on electronics and furniture purchases made through EBL ZIP using an EBL VISA credit card. The bank also offers 5% cashback on shopping transactions at popular malls such as Jamuna Future Park, Bashundhara City, Pink City and Sanmar Ocean City.

Mohammad Razimul Haque Razim, head of cards at The City Bank Limited, shared that their bank is also providing attractive discounts to customers during Ramadan and Eid. They are offering a 30 per cent price discount at 300 outlets and a 50 per cent price discount on jewellery purchases at 50 outlets.

In addition, the bank is providing gift vouchers for cashless transactions made with their card.

According to Md. Abed ur Rahman, the head of cards at Midland Bank, it is common to see a maximum discount of 20 per cent in the market during this Eid season. He advises customers to check and select merchants offering discounts before making a purchase to save substantial amounts.

Several banks, including Midland Bank (MDB), are offering 1 rewards point equivalent to 20 Paisha for every Tk. 50 spent. The unique feature of the MDB Reward point system is the direct cash adjustment with the outstanding monthly bill, eliminating the need for redemption by purchasing from selective products or outlets.

During this Eid festival, many of us may purchase furniture, electronics items, along with clothing. There are merchants where 0 per cent Easy Pay is offered, and interest-free EMI facilities are available. These offers allow us to pay for our purchases in affordable monthly installments. As Rahman pointed out, it's important to look for these options before making a purchase and make the most of them.

Mastercard is offering a range of exciting deals and discounts for their credit, debit, and pre-paid cardholders at various merchant outlets. This limited-time offer allows cardholders to save up to a whopping 50% on purchases made at Mastercard's lifestyle, dining, restaurant, e-commerce merchant partners, and hotel resorts.

Syed Mohammad Kamal, the country manager of Mastercard in Bangladesh, emphasized that the offer is valid until April 30, 2023, and encouraged Mastercard users to take advantage of the promotion while it lasts.

Khurshed Alam, the head of retail business at LankaBangla,

stated that his company has been providing various benefits to their customers, such as cashback on lifestyle, footwear, and grocery purchases, buy one get one deals, 0 per cent easy pay schemes for furniture and electronics, as well as special discounts on e-commerce transactions. LankaBangla cardholders can avail up to 25 per cent cashback on lifestyle products from Aarong, Yellow, Le Reve, Tangail Shari Kuthir, and up to 15 per cent discount on Sailor, Shadakalo, Crocodile, Dorjibari, Banglar Mela, Spark Gear, Viva Creation, and Zara Fashion.

According to Md. Abu Bokar Siddik, the head of cards at Mutual Trust Bank, the bank has come up with a variety of offers for its Cardholders this Eid season. One of the offers is a cashback campaign that provides a 10 per cent cashback on lifestyle brands such as Yellow, Ecstasy, Apex, Bata, Lubnan, Richman, and Infinity.

Additionally, there are numerous discount offers with over 330 online and offline merchants that are accessible across various outlets, including jewellery and fashion outlets, restaurants, supermarkets, lifestyle shops, travel and hotel partners, and more, informed Siddik.

While we've only scratched the surface of the incredible offers available this Eid, rest assured that more information is readily available on the websites and social media accounts of these banks and non-bank financial institutions. Don't miss out on the opportunity to take advantage of the numerous discounts, cashback campaigns, and interest-free EMI facilities being offered. Be sure to check out the details and make the most of this festive season with your credit and debit cards in hand!