Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced measures taken to assist Maldivians living abroad, including the increase of international withdrawal limits and a measure to allow international transfers through Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) accounts.
The changes to its services include increasing daily withdrawal limits from USD 400 to USD 1,000 while international withdrawal fee has been reduced to USD 0.97. Customers can also use USD 600 on POS terminals overseas despite the changes to daily withdrawal limits.
Another change is enabling international transfers through local currency, MVR. BML said customers can use MVR accounts to make international transfers of up to USD 500 per month. Customers will only be required to pay the respective foreign bank charges as SWIFT charges for the transfers by BML have also been waived off.
Additionally, customers using international money transfers through BML Mobile Pay can also send up to USD 500 per month using digital MVR wallets. BML noted international transfers through MVR accounts will only be available to customers who have registered with Maldivian embassies overseas according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidelines.
BML will allow the services until the end of May while the bank will continue to assess the situation and explore further ways to support individuals and businesses overcome the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.