Saeed credits president for bringing PayPal to Maldives
PayPal services were officially launched in the Maldives through a partnership between PayPal and Ooredoo Fintech.
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Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed on Monday credited President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and the government's efforts for the introduction of PayPal services in the Maldives, describing the President as the person who initiated the country's digital transformation agenda.
PayPal services were officially launched in the Maldives through a partnership between PayPal and Ooredoo Fintech. The service will be provided through integration with Ooredoo's digital wallet platform, m-Faisaa.
Speaking at the launch event held at Barceló Nasandhura Malé, Saeed said discussions between the Maldivian government and PayPal began in 2024 and led to the submission of a proposal and country profile.
According to the minister, further work was subsequently carried out to amend regulatory requirements and facilitate the service's introduction. He said PayPal later selected Ooredoo Maldives as its local implementation partner.
During the event, organisers also played an audio clip from President Muizzu's Presidential Address delivered earlier this year.
In the address, the President said efforts had been undertaken to establish PayPal services in the Maldives and that information received indicated the service would become available in the near future.
"The biggest obstacle to the growth of small and medium enterprises is the lack of a robust online payment system established in the Maldives. To resolve this, extensive work has been done to start PayPal operations in the Maldives, and information has been received that arrangements will be made very soon to enable PayPal use in the Maldives," Muizzu said in the address.
Addressing attendees at Monday's launch, Saeed thanked the President for his role in the process.
"Your name will be written in history as the champion who initiated the Maldives' digital transformation and unlocked the potential of the creator economy. Without your leadership, PayPal would not have become a reality," Saeed said.
Coinciding with the launch, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade issued a statement noting that the partnership resulted from discussions held between the government and PayPal.
The ministry stated that although the service is being delivered through Ooredoo's m-Faisaa platform, the arrangement followed engagement between the Maldivian government and the international payment provider.
The introduction of PayPal is expected to provide users in the Maldives with access to one of the world's largest online payment platforms through a locally available digital wallet service.
