Over 3,000 users linked to PayPal service, 2,159 wallets activated, says president

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced that more than 3,000 people have linked to PayPal services in the Maldives, with 2,159 users having activated their digital wallets since the platform's launch.

The President shared the figures during a press conference at the President's Office on Monday in response to a question about the rollout of the service.

The question referred to concerns raised by some users that not all PayPal features are currently available in the Maldives and that the official PayPal application is not listed on local app stores.

Responding, President Muizzu said the introduction of PayPal marked the achievement of a long-standing objective that previous administrations had been unable to realise.

According to the President:

"So this is just the first step; there are still further milestones we can reach through this initiative," he said.

President Muizzu said the introduction of PayPal would create new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by enabling businesses and individuals to receive payments from overseas.

"Achieving something that was completely out of reach in the past is a noteworthy milestone for us. The reality is that 2,159 parties have already activated their wallets. The next step is for micro-businesses and local creators to utilise this system to sell their products and receive payments. That opportunity has now been unlocked for numerous individuals," he said.

PayPal services were launched in the Maldives on 15 June through m-Faisaa, the digital wallet operated by Ooredoo Maldives.

Through the service, users can make payments to international merchants that accept PayPal, receive payments from overseas, transfer funds between their PayPal and m-Faisaa accounts, and use the platform for online commercial transactions.