BML CEO: Goal is to maintain card services without further restrictions

Bank of Maldives (BML) Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mohamed Shareef has said the bank's priority is to continue providing foreign transaction services to customers in a sustainable manner, as demand for overseas payments continues to grow.

Speaking at BML's "Chat with CEO" event on Tuesday, Shareef said the bank does not want to discontinue or significantly restrict a service used by a large number of customers.

The event also marked the launch of BML's new dollar investment product, which allows customers to invest US dollars and earn returns of up to 25 per cent in Maldivian rufiyaa.

Shareef said overseas transactions made using BML-issued rufiyaa debit and credit cards have increased significantly over the past five years.

"Over the past five years, transactions using cards to purchase goods and obtain services from abroad have grown significantly. The monthly volume of dollars sold for these transactions has risen by 3.7 times. Currently, an average of USD 39.3 million is sold monthly for this purpose. The number of customers utilising this service has also more than doubled," he said.

According to Shareef, between 250,000 and 300,000 customers use their BML rufiyaa cards for foreign transactions each month.

He said the volume of foreign currency leaving the bank currently exceeds the amount of dollars it receives, resulting in limits on foreign transactions made through rufiyaa cards.

Despite those restrictions, Shareef said customers continue to value access to the service, even when fees apply.

To help increase foreign currency liquidity, BML has introduced an investment pool through which customers can invest US dollars. The bank will use those funds in its foreign currency operations and distribute part of the revenue generated to investors.

"The bank has decided to pass on a substantial profit to investors, drawn from the revenue generated by trading with the dollars pooled through these investments," Shareef said.

He said the initiative is intended to help the bank maintain foreign transaction services relied upon by customers.

"Imposing measures that disrupt or restrict a service utilised so widely by a vast majority of our customers is not what we want to do. Our goal is to provide this service sustainably," he said.

"Therefore, we have established a mutually beneficial framework tailored toward a crucial objective—serving dollar investors, card users and the bank alike. This will secure dollars for the bank, which can then be channelled to support the essential needs of our customers."