The Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced that its home‑grown digital wallet, Swipe, has crossed the 20,000‑user milestone, a figure revealed by BML CEO Mohamed Shareef at the opening ceremony of the Youth Entrepreneurs Expo.
Launched in March this year, Swipe is a 100 percent Maldivian‑developed product that meets international standards for financial transactions.
Shareef said the wallet aligns with President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s vision to expand the digital economy to 15 percent of GDP by 2030 and to increase youth participation in creative and digital sectors.
“Today, more than 20,000 people use Swipe, and it now allows users to send money abroad and receive funds in the Maldives without any additional fees. It also enables seamless transactions between Maldivians and foreigners,” he noted.
The CEO highlighted that foreign users can register for Swipe after completing e‑KYC procedures, permitting them to send money to the Maldives and pay local businesses. According to Shareef, BML is currently integrating Swipe with leading global payment networks—including Alipay, WeChat Pay, MasterCard and Visa—to let merchants settle international payments without a physical card, a feature slated for rollout later this year.
Swipe now offers the ability to open international multi‑currency accounts (USD, GBP, EUR) each with its own IBAN.
“This means Maldivian content creators, freelancers and young entrepreneurs can receive payments from overseas—say, pounds from the UK—directly into their Swipe wallet as a local payment,” Shareef explained.
According to BML, the new functionality is expected to be a game‑changer for Maldivian youth engaged with international clients, removing barriers to cross‑commerce and reinforcing the country’s push toward a vibrant, digitally‑enabled economy.