Up until getting my first prepaid card, the EBL Aqua Card a few weeks ago, I never knew getting a card can be this much hassle-free in Bangladesh! That too is a dual currency MasterCard that can be used for online transactions for purchasing apps from Play Store or items from international online shops!
Published on: June 2nd, 2017
For a long time, I have been trying to get my own credit card for purchasing apps/services that I truly love. But not having one was my excuse for using softwares illegally. This all changed a few months ago when I came to know about the EBL Aqua Card from Robin Rayhan vai. Seeing his post about getting the card inspired me to apply for the card right away and within days, I was able to purchase my first app from the Play Store! Since then, I've made transactions for over $500 and now extremely satisfied with the service.
Best features of the card
Having a dual currency card of my own for only 575 BDT seemed like a pretty good bargain to me. Below are some of the best features of the card.
- Any 18 years or older Bangladeshi citizen can avail the card.
- The service charge for 3 years is only 575 BDT including VAT which is to be paid during sign up and is renewable.
- No charge for loading money.
- Dual currency enabled; can be used in online shops or PoS terminals all across the globe.
- Cash withdrawal from MasterCard branded ATMs all over the world for a charge of only $2 or 1% (whichever is higher). Very helpful for travelers.
- Free cash withdrawal from EBL ATMs.
- Can be used to buy applications from Play Store or Steam.
- This is a prepaid card just like Payoneer. Only the amount loaded can be used. So no need to worry about credit bill or due date or credit history.
- And more.
Signing up
Just opening a savings bank account requires you to submit a lot of information to the bank. So it's no surprise that getting a dual currency prepaid card for international transactions needs even more information.
Being eligible to get this card is quite straightforward. You need to be a 18 years or older Bangladeshi citizen. So go to your nearest EBL bank branch now! But don't forget to take these documents with you:
Ask for signing up for Aqua Prepaid Card and you'll get two forms to fill up. One is for personal information, and the other is for card information. The personal information form is pretty intuitive and is very thorough. As for the card info form, you'll have to tick both BDT and USD if you want dual currency. You also will need to assign a nominee to your account. Nominee is someone who can claim the content of your account after your demise. This can be your parents, your siblings or your friend, but you'll need their official birth date.
After the filling up part is done, you'll need to pay 575 BDT as the card service charge. This fee is inclusive of the VAT and need to be paid every three years. Surprisingly, other than this fee, no other fees are charged to your account either for maintenance or during transactions.
After you submit the service charge, you'll be given your card, which disappointingly won't bear your name. Then you will be asked to collect your PIN from a different desk. Your part of signing up is done!
If you have chosen to use dual currency, it'll take up to 7 business days (9 days from signing up) for your card to be active. For only BDT, it usually takes 2-3 business days. Upon successful activation, you will receive an SMS.
Being eligible to get this card is quite straightforward. You need to be a 18 years or older Bangladeshi citizen. So go to your nearest EBL bank branch now! But don't forget to take these documents with you:
- A valid photo ID (national ID or driving license) and one photocopy.
- 1 copy of your photograph.
- Your passport and a photocopy of the ID page.
Ask for signing up for Aqua Prepaid Card and you'll get two forms to fill up. One is for personal information, and the other is for card information. The personal information form is pretty intuitive and is very thorough. As for the card info form, you'll have to tick both BDT and USD if you want dual currency. You also will need to assign a nominee to your account. Nominee is someone who can claim the content of your account after your demise. This can be your parents, your siblings or your friend, but you'll need their official birth date.
After the filling up part is done, you'll need to pay 575 BDT as the card service charge. This fee is inclusive of the VAT and need to be paid every three years. Surprisingly, other than this fee, no other fees are charged to your account either for maintenance or during transactions.
After you submit the service charge, you'll be given your card, which disappointingly won't bear your name. Then you will be asked to collect your PIN from a different desk. Your part of signing up is done!
If you have chosen to use dual currency, it'll take up to 7 business days (9 days from signing up) for your card to be active. For only BDT, it usually takes 2-3 business days. Upon successful activation, you will receive an SMS.
Endorsing Passport for international transactions
For foreign transactions, you must endorse your passport for the amount of money you want to spend. For one calendar year, you are allowed to endorse a maximum of $7000 for SAARC countries and $5000 for rest of the world. You can endorse the whole amount at once but you'll have to keep a few points in mind. This endorsement has nothing to do with cash endorsement. So if you have exhausted all your endorse limit, you may not be allowed to endorse dollar during traveling. Also, the endorsement is divided into all of your cards. So if you have endorsed the whole limit on one of your cards, others won't be eligible anymore.
Using the card
Since this is a prepaid card and doesn't require you to deposit money against FDR, it doesn't come with an attached bank account and you are allowed to spend from only the money you load. To load money, head over to any EBL branch and search for credit card payment slip. The color keeps changing frequently for security reasons, so check the title on the top. Fill up your name and full card number carefully. Beside "Please fill-up if you are paying for USD" box, write the amount of BDT you are willing to load in the right most box saying "BDT Amount Payable". Leave the "USD Amount Due" and "Exchange Rate" box blank, since the amount you deposit is automatically converted to USD based on the latest exchange rate. Fill up the Date, Amount in words, Customer Phone/ Mobile and sign where necessary and leave other boxes empty.
I was told that the deposited amount is readily available for online transactions, although I have not tried so. The confirmation message is sent to your registered mobile number after 10 PM.
Using the card online is way too simple! You enter your card number, the expiry date, the CCV (at the back of the card), the cardholder's name and the cardholder's address. In Aqua Prepaid Card, it is written EBL AQUA CARD in the place where other cards have the Cardholder's name. But don't worry about that, write your name as you provided during signing up. The online transactions don't require you to provide the PIN. After successfully clicking Pay Now button, you will receive a confirmation SMS stating the transaction amount, ID, time, date and balance.
If you ever receive an unauthorized transaction SMS, call the EBL Helpline at 16230 or +88028332232 (international) immediately.
I was told that the deposited amount is readily available for online transactions, although I have not tried so. The confirmation message is sent to your registered mobile number after 10 PM.
Using the card online is way too simple! You enter your card number, the expiry date, the CCV (at the back of the card), the cardholder's name and the cardholder's address. In Aqua Prepaid Card, it is written EBL AQUA CARD in the place where other cards have the Cardholder's name. But don't worry about that, write your name as you provided during signing up. The online transactions don't require you to provide the PIN. After successfully clicking Pay Now button, you will receive a confirmation SMS stating the transaction amount, ID, time, date and balance.
If you ever receive an unauthorized transaction SMS, call the EBL Helpline at 16230 or +88028332232 (international) immediately.
Limitations of the card
There are several limitations to the card, that may eventually be very frustrating for you. Let's look at some of these:
- The maximum amount you can spend per transaction is $100. There are exceptions to that which are given below.
- The maximum number of times you can transact in a day is 4. The day is defined as 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM. So, you can transact 4 times anytime before 11:59 PM, and 4 times after 12:00 PM.
- The maximum amount you can spend a day is 40000 BDT.
- There is a charge to withdraw cash from other than EBL ATMs. NPS- 15 BDT (+VAT), QCash ATM- 10 BDT (+VAT), VISA/MasterCard ATM- 25 BDT (+VAT). For international ATMs- $2 or 1%, whichever is higher.
- Unlike Payoneer, you cannot receive funds in this card.
Tips
- Never share your card number/ expiry date/ CCV with anyone.
- Upon calling the customer care, they might ask you for several information to verify such as, last 4/6 digits of your card number, expiry date, birth date, mother's name etc. Don't worry about revealing these information.
- Always check whether the payment web page is secured. Check and make sure your address bar is https:// rather than http://
- The dollar rates fluctuate very frequently. And sometimes there is hidden fee of about $1/$2 in the merchant side. So to stay safe, load a few dollars more than you actually need when you need to make urgent payment.
- The Facebook Page of EBL Bank Ltd. is very responsive to messages. You can ask your inquiries through message option too.
What do you think of the card? Is it worth getting? Are you considering to get one after reading the article? Let me know in the comments below!