This system which was initially introduced in India in 2016, and developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be a major step for the Maldives - a country that has a large Indian traveller market.
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Although there have been some setbacks when it comes to the banking sector as citizens in the Maldives have continued to face interruptions in the past few weeks, some interesting developments are set to take place in the upcoming days. The Maldives has seen some significant improvements in the banking system. Whether it is in terms of better accessibility, methods to transfer money between countries and different parties faster or even being able to send money between two different banks - there is no denying that everything from QR code scanning to instant transfers has made the banking system in the Maldives easier over the years.
As the country looks for more developments, especially as the tourism industry continues to grow and prosper, the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has announced the launching of India’s instant payment system in the Maldives. The first steps to introduce the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) were taken on the 10th of August 2024, as the two countries signed an MoU during the Indian Foreign Minister’s three-day official visit to the Maldives.
This system which was initially introduced in India in 2016, and developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will be a major step for the Maldives - a country that has a large Indian traveller market. As Indian tourists discovered the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the introduction of the UPI system, there is no doubt that Indian travellers as well as expat workers in the Maldives will have a more accessible form of banking during their time in the Maldives. With the launch of this system, interbank transactions will be enabled through mobile phones, allowing a real payment system to be set in place between India and the Maldives. With this, tourists will no longer have to carry cash on hand, making their vacation experience in the Maldives that much better.
