Will a new plastic card revolutionize retail in Bhutan?

Bhutan National Bank is launching a prepaid Visa card today. Other banks are offering or have plans to offer similar cards. According to the information provided by BNB, the card can be used for Internet online shopping.

The hidden benefits of debit cards

I really like the convenience of using my Bhutan National Bank (BNB) ATM card for paying at participating shops. No need to carry around cash, no need to deal with checks. I recently learned of two additional reasons for using the card to pay at these shops. The first is straightforward. The second is slightly more tricky.

• There's a monthly "Swipe and Win" draw with nice prizes (see the amounts in the shown ad). They'll even call you if you win.

• Using your card in this way is the only way to withdraw money from your account without affecting your eligibility for interest. In particular, BNB announced that as of April 1, 2010
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  BNB customers are eligible to receive an interest rate of 4.5% (effective) on saving accounts with a minimum balance of Nu.1,000.00 with no upper limit

  Sounds like a good deal. However, as we have been told at the main branch, to receive the interest you must have 4 or less withdrawals from your account per month. "Withdrawal" includes using the ATM machine, writing a check, or withdrawing directly from the cashier. Surprisingly, using your BNB ATM card at shops does not count as a withdrawal for this purpose!

BNB texting tip

I've been quite happy with the zero-fee savings account from Bhutan National Bank. The two BNB ATMs in Thimphu spit out the right number of crispy notes, the customer service is friendly and efficient, and their debit card seems to work at plenty of shops around town (with the exception of Tashi Supermarket - where the machine never works).

I also like their SMS service, which sends you a message automatically if a large transaction is made in your account (currently "large" means more than Nu. 5,000).  Using this service, there are two ways to find your balance: you can either text the message BALA XXXX (where XXXX is your 4-digit PIN) to get the summary balance of all your accounts, or if you need the balance of just one specific account, you can use the message BAL ZZZZZZZZZZZZ XXXX (where ZZZZZZZZZZZZ is your account number, and XXXX is your 4-digit PIN).

Here's something I found out recently: Due to the intricate ways of the BNB computers, the response to the former message (summary of all accounts) takes a few minutes (even if you have just one account) while the response to the latter message takes only a few seconds. Thus, if you're in a hurry - use the second format.

BNB's SMS banking down?

I've been trying to use Bhutan National Bank's SMS banking in the last few days, in order to get my balance. This is done by sending an SMS to 6070 with the adequate text code. I've tried multiple times, but have not been able to receive an SMS back with the information. However, I am still receiving SMS messages from BNB whenever a transaction above Nu. 5000 is taking place. Hence, it appears that something is wrong with their ability to receive incoming SMS messages. If anyone has information or other experience, please post.

BOB's got Internet Banking

Bank of Bhutan's new Internet Banking portal is here. The new system, as well as BOB's new SMS banking feature, was recently covered by Kuensel.

Beware of BNB Debit Card Charging Errors

BNB's debit card is a convenient way to withdraw cash at ATM machines. But I recently found out that there is a slight problem in BNB's banking software, which may cause your account to be erroneously charged.
Here's what happened: On Friday I tried to withdraw cash from the ATM machine. After entering the PIN, amount, etc, I waited for some time until finally, the screen displayed a message that the transaction was canceled. No money was spat out. Still, I discovered to my surprise that the whole amount was taken from my account. Apparently, these kind of mistakes may happen when there are network problems between Bhutan and India.

While BNB will make all efforts to reverse the charges in such cases of discrepancy, it is recommended that if you use your ATM, carefully check the account statements. This applies both to cash withdrawals and merchant transactions.

Using the BNB ATM card

The ATM card issued by BNBL is a real upgrade to using checks or cash.

First, it allows withdrawing cash from the ATM machine instead of waiting in line at the bank (up to Nu. 15,000/transaction and maximum of Nu. 30,000/day), as well as when the bank is closed. The two ATM machines in the bank itself are sometimes accessible after hours, and another machine is located in the JOJO building (BNBL claim that there are a total of 10 machines, but I have only located 3).

Second, I use it to pay at various shops, restaurants, and even for paying bills at Bhutan Telecom (main branch). The full list of merchants that accept payment with the BNB ATM card is available on the BNB main page. However, I've encountered at least two places where they claimed that "the machine is not working".

Businesses that want to offer this service can find details here. Another note: although the transaction using the ATM seems immediate, I heard that the money is not automatically transferred into the merchant's account.

For further details on issuing a card see the BNBL webpage.

SMS Banking: Take 2

(Posted by Galit)

Following up on my previous post (where I tried BNB's new SMS Banking over the weekend):
On Monday morning I received confirmation emails from BNBL for both the password change and the balance inquiry. It appears as if the service was down (or off?) on the weekend, but it works beautifully now.

SMS Banking: Take 1

(Posted by Galit)

A few days ago I registered for Bhutan National Bank's new SMS banking program. Registration was easy: you fill out aform at the customer service desk, get a Nu. 10 stamp from the next door post office, and submit it back to the customer service desk. I received a colorful brochure and an additional page (also available here) with information on how to perform the different banking operations via SMS.

A day later I received an SMS on my mobile phone from BNBL, confirming "You have been Registered". I was also assigned an initial password. My first mobile banking attempt was to change the password. This is done by sending an SMS to 6070 with the text "Chgp oldpassword newpassword" (replace "oldpassword" with the initial password that BNBL sent you and "newpassword" with your preferred 4-digit password). I waited a while. I waited a day. Nothing happened. Or, at least, I have no idea if my password was changed.

My second attempt was to get my account balance. This is done by sending an SMS to 6070 with the text "Bal password" (replace the word "password" with your 4-digit password). Again, nothing happened.

SMS banking is indeed a great idea. The question is what am I doing wrong? I will follow up when I figure it out.