How we review products

Our reviews help readers in Bangladesh choose financial products with confidence. Here is exactly how we test, score and rank them, and how we keep commercial interests out of our verdicts.

We use the product ourselves

Wherever possible, a member of our team signs up for the product as a normal customer, using their own national ID and phone number, and uses it for at least four weeks.

• Cards: everyday spending, online and abroad, EMI purchases and statement checks.
• Banks: opening an account, the app and internet banking, branch visits, fees and calling the helpline.
• Fintech apps: sending, receiving, paying bills and cashing out, with every charge recorded.
• Loans: the application, documents, approval time and the full cost, including processing fees and early settlement charges.
• Investments: opening a BO account, placing orders, fees per trade and the quality of reports.
• Business tools: setting up a real small-business workflow, from invoicing to VAT reports.

Where we cannot sign up ourselves, for example for a home loan, we use the provider’s published terms, mystery-shopping calls and interviews with real customers, and we say so in the review.

How we score

Each product gets a score out of 5 in five areas, which together make up the overall rating.

Area	What we look at
Costs & fees	Every charge we paid or found in the fee schedule, including the ones in the fine print.
Features	Whether the product does what most people need, and does it well.
Ease of use	Sign-up, the app or website, and everyday use, in Bangla and English.
Customer support	How quickly and how well the helpline, chat and branches solve real problems.
Trust & security	Regulation, login security, fraud protection and how the provider handles problems.

How we rank

Our “Best of” lists rank products within a category, such as credit cards or mobile financial services. Rankings are based on our scores and on how well each product suits the need it is listed for, such as “best for travel” or “best for students”.

Our review series

You will see our signature series across the site: Card Review, Bank Review, App Review, Loan Review, Money Tools, The Comparison, Worth It?, Hidden Charges, Real Experience and Expert Verdict. Each has its own format, but all follow the testing rules on this page.

Keeping reviews up to date

Fees, rates and features change. We recheck our top-ranked products regularly and whenever a provider announces changes. Each review shows the date it was last updated. If a rating changes, we say so and explain why.

Money and independence

Some products we review are from affiliate partners who pay us a commission when readers sign up. That never affects our scores or rankings: partners cannot buy a place on our lists, and they do not see reviews before publication. We review products whether or not they pay us. Read our Affiliate disclosure.

Suggest a product

Want us to review something? Email stories@dhakadebates.com. Providers can send information, but cannot pay for or request a review.