Bank of Maldives (BML) has paved the way for opening Indian Rupee accounts in the Maldives for the first time. BML stated that this is a step towards further strengthening the trade and economic ties between India and the Maldives. Regarding this, BML’s CEO and Managing Director Mohamed Shareef said that it’s an honor for the bank to start offering Indian Rupee accounts. He added that this will provide new business and investment opportunities for their customers and facilitate easier overseas money transfers.
“As the national bank, we will continue to focus on the needs of individuals and businesses, taking the banking sector to new heights,” said BML CEO Mohamed Shareef.
BML had enabled the use of RuPay cards at their ATMs and POS terminals last October. The CEO also mentioned that they are working with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to issue RuPay cards to BML customers, hoping to complete this by the end of this year. “Once these phases are completed, it will enable individuals and businesses to make payments in Indian Rupees anywhere in the world,” said BML CEO Mohamed Shareef.
BML said that from August 1st, all their customers, including Maldivians, businesses, and foreigners, will be able to open Rupee accounts through mobile banking. Deposits to these accounts can be made at BML branches, accepting Indian Rupee notes from 500 and above. They added that remittances from India can be deposited into these Indian Rupee accounts, and these accounts can also be used for sending money to India.
