Fee introduced for some USD transactions on MVR cards to ensure sustainability in e-commerce

Bank of Maldives (BML) states a fee has been imposed on transactions conducted via websites such as Temu in order to ensure sustainability in e-commerce transactions.

Maldives’ national bank announced its decision to charge a transaction fee up to 30 percent for purchases from six e-commerce sites – Temu, Shein, Alibab, AliExpress, Lazada and eBay – on Monday. The fee is only applicable for USD transactions on MVR debit cards. Apart from these six websites, no fee will be levied on purchases from roughly 155,000 e-commerce websites used by Maldivians for business transactions.

The decision to levy the fee has been met with strong criticism as the six websites are frequently used by Maldivians to purchase goods for both personal and business purchases.

BML defended the decision, citing that it was taken to stop the misuse of debit cards.

Speaking during SSTV’s ‘Baaru Hathareh’ program on Monday, BML’s Real and SME Banking Director Badhurudheen Hassan said control measures were placed on six websites due to an increase in transactions compared to last year.

In this regard, he detailed that monthly transactions on those websites currently stand at USD 45 million, up from USD 20 million last year.

According to BML, it now incurs USD 45 million per month to support foreign transactions made through MVR debit cards with over 75 percent of these transactions accounting for those on e-commerce websites. One third of this percentage accounts for transactions on the six websites that control measures were imposed on.

Temu, which recently gained traction in the Maldives, has the highest number of transactions at USD 7 million per month, most of which being for business purposes.

As such, BML said the changes were introduce to prioritize the needs of the entire community on an equal basis.

Badhurudheen stressed that if these figures continue to rise, BML would struggle to facilitate enough USD to meet essential needs.

Her underscored that BML debit cards are used to facilitate USD for students studying abroad and Maldivians traveling abroad for medical and other purposes.

“We believe USD can only be facilitated for these purposes by implementing some means of control. That is why that charge was introduced today,” he detailed.

Meanwhile, BML’s Public Relations Manager, Mohamed Nasih, explained that the decision was also driven by certain irresponsible behaviors observed among customers.

Expanding on this, Badhurudheen highlighted that many Maldivians traveling abroad carry multiple debit cards and use them to withdraw cash from ATMs. He noted that some individuals have taken as many as 20 to 30 debit cards. He pointed out that the withdrawn USD is often found circulating in the local black market, which he described as an abuse of the customer limits provided by the bank. He urged customers to reflect on such actions.

Notably, BML also announced on Monday that it has doubled the monthly foreign transaction limit for its debit cards—from USD 250 to USD 500. With the change, ATM cash withdrawal overseas will be USD 125 per month for debit cards and the fee for cash withdrawal overseas will be USD 10.

The current administration has been implementing measures to address the USD shortage in the Maldives since last year, including the introduction of a legislature mandating tourist establishments to exchange a certain amount of USD per tourist with a local bank.