Bangladesh plans to launch a special Probashi Card for overseas workers as part of a government election pledge, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman expected to inaugurate distribution in the final week of August 2026. The ceremony is planned at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. Workers travelling to Jordan through BOESL are expected to receive the first cards, while travellers to Malaysia and Brunei may also be included.

The government aims to distribute 200,000 cards in three stages by June 2027. The first phase will cover 5,000 people, including 500 on the launch day; 50,000 are targeted by December, followed by 150,000 by June 2027. The Wage Earners’ Welfare Board will bear the card cost. The Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry and Janata Bank signed an agreement on August 10, and Tk10 crore was approved for training, software development and publicity.

Cardholders are promised 10% off Biman tickets, 41% hotel-booking discounts, health-service discounts and remittance incentives of 3% to 3.5%. Initially issued as five-year debit cards through Janata Bank, the cards are intended to later support credit, prepaid and virtual functions. Experts urged trial monitoring, user training and awareness campaigns.