The Family Card () is a digital social safety net program introduced by the Ministry of Social Welfare of the Government of Bangladesh. The program aims to bring poor and low-income families under a single unified database to provide direct financial and food assistance.
On 10 March 2026, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman officially inaugurated the program at the T&T field adjacent to the Korail slum in Dhaka. This initiative was a primary commitment in the election manifesto of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Social safety nets in Bangladesh have historically been managed in a fragmented manner across various ministries. By 2025, it was observed that over 100 social protection programs were active under approximately 25 ministries, with a budget allocation of nearly 1.9 percent of the GDP. However, this system suffered from structural weaknesses, data duplication, and high exclusion rates of the actual poor. Various studies indicated that about 22 to 25 percent of the truly impoverished were excluded from any government benefits, while in many cases, affluent individuals were enjoying multiple benefits.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the subsequent Russo-Ukrainian war and global inflation, low and lower-middle-income families faced severe economic pressure. Specifically, the rising prices of essential commodities made life difficult for the general public.
The core philosophy of the Family Card program is "The family, not the individual, is the primary unit of development."
The Family Card program is built entirely on modern digital technology. It is considered a significant step in the transition from Digital Bangladesh to Smart Bangladesh.
The beneficiary selection process for the Family Card is conducted through specialized software and a Proxy Means Test scoring method.
According to the policy, the following seven special categories of people receive priority in obtaining a Family Card:
Certain families are excluded from these benefits:
During data collection, indicators such as family size, housing status, type of floor, ownership of livestock, TV, refrigerator or laptop, and remittance flow are recorded. An engine in the central server of the Department of Social Services provides a score between 0 and 1000 based on this data. Only those with a score below 796 are considered eligible for the Family Card.
Before the full nationwide rollout, a pilot project is being conducted from March to June 2026. In this phase, a total of 37,567 beneficiaries in 15 wards across 13 districts are being provided with cards.
The primary areas covered under the pilot project are:
A total of 38.07 crore BDT was allocated for this pilot project, of which 66 percent is spent directly on cash assistance and the remainder on card production and data collection.
Previously, TCB distributed products to approximately 10 million families through handwritten cards. With the introduction of the Family Card, radical changes have been made to this TCB distribution system.
When TCB began verifying its database of 10 million cards against NIDs, it was discovered that approximately 4.3 million cards had data discrepancies or involved multiple cards taken using the same NID. These fake cards were canceled, and 5.7 million authentic smart cards were prepared.
The Family Card program is seen as a major financial commitment for the economy of Bangladesh. If 20 million families are provided with a monthly cash assistance of 2,500 BDT, the annual expenditure would amount to approximately 60,000 crore BDT.
As low-income families receive direct cash and essential food items at affordable prices, their nutritional gaps are being filled, playing a vital role in ensuring the country's food security. Additionally, the distribution of TCB products helps control hoarding and artificial price hikes by dishonest traders in the open market, helping to maintain overall market stability. Furthermore, the application of digital methods has reduced the scope for political influence or local nepotism, thereby increasing administrative transparency. Finally, as millions of poor women come under the umbrella of banking or mobile banking services, the scope of financial inclusion is expanding, and the quality of life for marginalized populations is improving.
Meeting the massive budget deficit of 60,000 crore BDT in national budget implementation is a challenge, as inflation risks may arise if funds are not sourced correctly. Additionally, errors often occur in measuring urban poverty because collecting accurate data for the urban floating poor and verifying their income sources is quite difficult. On the other hand, due to the technological divide, many people in rural areas are deprived of benefits like card activation because they are not skilled in using smartphones or apps. Above all, keeping this massive database updated annually and ensuring data accuracy to build a sustainable management system remains a long-term challenge.
The Family Card program is managed through a disciplined administrative structure extending from the field level to the center.
A gazetted officer is in charge of supervision in each ward to ensure neutrality. An online Grievance Redress Mechanism has been developed to resolve beneficiary complaints.
Under Vision 2030, the government does not view the Family Card merely as a relief program but wants to develop it as a multi-purpose citizen service platform. Plans to integrate the following services with this card in the future include: