The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has launched the country's first real-time cross-border payment service, enabling instant money transfers from the Maldives to India through the integration of the Favara instant payment system with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The service was inaugurated by MMA Governor Ahmed Munawar on 30 July at a ceremony attended by Foreign Minister Dr Iruthisham Adam and Indian High Commissioner G. Balasubramanian.

Initially available to customers of Bank of Maldives (BML) and Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB), the service allows users to send person-to-person transfers to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India through their existing mobile and internet banking platforms. Transfers can be made in Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) or US Dollars (USD), with recipients receiving Indian Rupees (INR) instantly.

The service supports approved transfers for education expenses, medical treatment, and family maintenance or personal savings. Customers can transfer up to INR 24,000 per month through each participating bank, subject to bank limits.

The MMA said the service marks the Maldives' first real-time international payment link through its national payment infrastructure. The authority added that work is underway to introduce QR-based merchant payments, while testing of transfers from India to the Maldives is expected to begin in the coming months.