No restrictions imposed on credit cards: CBSL

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Central Bank of Sri Lanka emphasizes that no new restrictions have been imposed on the use of electronic money transfer cards, such as credit cards, debit cards and other value deposit cards. This was mentioned in a statement issued by CBSL regarding reports concerning cardholders being restricted from making certain foreign exchange payments to persons residing outside Sri Lanka using cards. Accordingly, cardholders are allowed to use their cards to make payments to private residents outside Sri Lanka. However, it has been observed that some banks have introduced several restrictions on the use of electronic money transfer cards to prevent misuse of the cards and to prioritize transactions according to the prevailing foreign exchange status of those banks. Accordingly, the Central Bank requests the public to contact the respective banks if they encounter any difficulty in making legitimate payments using EFTCs, while using foreign exchange sparingly at present.