The BML Mobile app: A welcome refresh

With the pandemic necessitating more interactions, and transactions, online, the Bank of Maldives’ refresh of its mobile banking app is seen by many as a welcome change. Even with services that previously used to run on cash, the need to adhere to distancing and, among other safe practices, limiting physical interaction, people have now increasingly become more dependent on using their mobile phones to conduct payments.

This of course has seen a rise in the use of online banking apps and it has become paramount to ensure previous deficiencies were addressed and processes made even more secure. To this end, the new application has taken groundbreaking strides.

One of the more noticeable changes is to the User Interface (UI). Sleek, easy to understand, and with a marked move away from the roulette menu, the UI now is more in line with other, modern, banking platforms. A whole slew of additional, many previously requested, features are now peppered across the interface.

Quick Pay is one such welcome addition. Earlier, users had to manually enter and save full banking details of a recipient before being able to transfer payments. This made taxi rides and quick purchases from shops awkward to say the least, as the extra step, for a recipient that the user may never encounter again, slows down the process.

Now with Quick Pay the user need only enter the account number to have the account holder’s name pop up with a quick search and, with a verbal verification, make the transfer. In the older version, if one fails to save a receipt for a transfer, it would be impossible to generate the same format again but the new iteration allows users to check the receipts of any prior transaction, saving a lot of time and effort.

BML points out that business profiles were not accessible through the application previously, but not anymore. Now, users can seamlessly switch between profiles, allowing unprecedented flexibility at their fingertips. This includes multiple authorisation options and limits which can be set based on the hierarchy levels of the business or the institution. It’s an easy-to-use service which gives business customers access to banking 24 hours a day, anywhere in the world and guarantees the safety of funds and transaction details. 

Beyond this, applying for services can also be done through the app; this includes managing cards and updating personal information, as well as sending messages to the bank regarding any issues you may have. No longer does one have to send texts, wait on hold, or lose out on phone charges.

Over 90 percent of BML account holders are registered for online banking services, and over 73 million online transactions took place during 2020 in the midst of the pandemic — an increase of 33 percent compared to the previous year.

BML has plans to bring the Online International Money Transfers to the new app, which is at present available in their MobilePay app. Users can then transfer funds with affordable fees ranging from USD5 onwards, making this a cheap, quick and convenient way to move money across borders, safely and securely.

BML seeks to continue supporting a wide range of businesses engaged in all sectors of the economy across the country ranging from micro, small and medium sized businesses to large corporates. As a leading digital banking service provider in the country, the stated aim is to transform the banking landscape in the Maldives with convenient, fast and secure payments.