You can soon pay via UPI in Maldives
What's the story
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has expanded its international footprint with the addition of the Maldives as its 10th market. The integration between the Maldives's Instant Payment System, 'Favara,' and UPI was successfully launched by NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). This development is seen as a major step in enhancing cross-border digital financial connectivity between India and the Maldives.
Service launch
Real-time fund transfers
With the launch of this service, individuals from the Maldives can now make real-time fund transfers to any UPI-enabled bank account in India through their mobile banking apps.
The service has been launched with two local banks, Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank.
Customers of these banks can now use their mobile banking apps and the Favara payment network to initiate person-to-person (P2P) transfers directly to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.
Partnership
Strengthening ties
The successful implementation of this service is a result of the close cooperation between the MMA, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NIPL, participating financial institutions, and other stakeholders from both countries.
Future phases of this partnership will bring more cross-border payment use cases such as QR-based merchant payments and other digital payment solutions.
This would further strengthen economic and financial ties between India and Maldives.