Global digital payments leader Visa has achieved over 25 percent growth in digital payments during Ramadan of 2024, particularly through cards, and nearly 70 percent of it came through ecommerce.

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

An increase in ecommerce spending accounted for nearly 70 percent of Ramadan spends, he said.

"We expect this momentum in digital payment usage to continue during Eid-ul-Azha."

The parallel growth of credit and debit card use underscores the confidence and trust people place in Visa, he said.

During Ramadan, retail spends picked up pace with consumers exercising their purchasing power and paying through both debit and credit cards, Visa said in a statement.

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

This year, the share of ecommerce in overall spends 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 percent and 15 percent respectively and almost 70 percent of in-store shopping happened on credit cards.

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

"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."

"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," Ahmed said.