Dhaka, May 12 -- Bangladesh Bank has allowed customers to place foreign currency security bonds with embassies of different countries as a precondition for obtaining visas.

Commercial banks will be able to issue international or virtual cards against customers for this purpose, the central bank said on Monday.

Existing cardholders will also be eligible for the facility.

According to the notification sent to commercial banks, authorised dealer (AD) branches will now be allowed to allocate foreign currency for embassies or international authorities that require refundable security deposits in foreign currency as a condition for issuing visas.

Only funds that are refundable or repatriable to Bangladesh after expiry of the term can be kep...