The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed that work is underway to develop the National Payment System in line with modern standards under a separate company called Payment Maldives. The central bank disclosed this in a statement regarding the linking of the Fawmra system with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment system. In the statement released about the agreement signed between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and MMA, the central bank said that with this agreement, arrangements will be made for easy financial transactions between the general public of the two countries.
The MMA stated that with this agreement, the payment infrastructure of the Maldives will be developed, and the financial system will be further strengthened. They added that linking the Maldives Instant Payment System – Fawmra with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will enable secure and affordable instant financial transactions for individuals. These services are planned to be introduced in two phases. In the first phase, a system for instant financial transactions between individuals in the Maldives and India will be introduced by 2026. In the second phase, a system for easy business transactions through QR codes will be introduced. The MMA said these services are planned to be introduced in a way that allows the use of each country’s own currency in transactions between the two countries.
The MMA said that they have decided to establish a separate company called “Payment Maldives” to work on establishing an internationally recognized national payment or financial transaction system. This company will introduce innovative payment services using modern technology and coordinate this work, according to the central bank. They noted that this is a model successfully operating in many countries. The central bank said that work is underway to make necessary changes to the legal framework to implement this.
Additionally, the central bank has revealed that they are developing a National QR Code Standard. The MMA said this is an effort to make QR codes used by banks and all payment service providers interoperable based on a unified standard. This will facilitate increased payments through Fawmra and ease international transactions between the two countries. The central bank said this will also ease transactions between individuals and businesses, increase financial inclusion (which is among MMA’s goals), and serve as a force to reduce reliance on cash.
