Bank of Maldives (BML) has decided to limit monthly transactions for e-commerce platforms commonly used by Maldivians.
BML’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Shareef stated that this is an important step to provide foreign currency to residents equally.
With this change, up to 30 transactions can be made via e-commerce sites per month. Mohamed Shareef noted that some users were purchasing exorbitant amounts of goods via e-commerce sites using their personal MVR cards. Due to this, a large amount of foreign currency leaving the bank comes from a small group of people.
Shareef informed that for each transaction made via foreign currency, the bank transfers US Dollars abroad.
“Utilising the MVR card for transactions abroad or making purchases via e-commerce platforms results in MVR being sold for US Dollars. This results in us having to sell US Dollars abroad. In this case, a small group of people are utilising a great sum of money, causing difficulties for other customers.” Shareef detailed.
Despite this change made to MVR cards, no change has been made to limits for USD cards. Users may carry out as many transactions as desired via this card.
Shareef stated that at present, only three percent of users made over 30 transactions per month. He added that this would bring about a positive change for e-commerce businesses.