BML to Ease Online Dollar Limits by End of June, President Says

MALE’ — Bank of Maldives will significantly ease its restrictions on foreign currency spending by the end of June, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu said today, signalling relief for Maldivians who have struggled for months to complete basic international online purchases.

President Muizzu said the President’s Office contacted BML to seek clarity on the current restrictions and received an indication that substantial easing is coming. “Bank of Maldives is currently limiting transactions slightly due to the difficulties they are facing,” he said. “However, when the President’s Office reached out to the bank yesterday to clarify the situation, they gave an indication that they will significantly ease these restrictions toward the end of this month.”

BML introduced a series of tightening measures earlier this year as dollar outflows surged. The bank imposed a 30 percent fee on transactions made on popular e-commerce platforms including Temu, Shein, Alibaba, AliExpress, Lazada and eBay. It also restricted overseas ATM and point-of-sale card limits so they only activate when the cardholder is physically outside the Maldives, a measure aimed at stopping people from renting out their cards to travellers to access foreign currency limits.

The restrictions left many Maldivians unable to complete routine online purchases as monthly limits ran out quickly. The baseline debit card limit, originally USD 250, had been raised to USD 500 before the current tighter individualised caps were introduced. BML had adjusted certain caps last September, allowing up to USD 1,000 for overseas point-of-sale transactions and up to USD 3,000 for airline tickets, hotel bookings abroad and medical payments, but day-to-day retail limits remained a significant bottleneck.

The measures were introduced against a backdrop of significant pressure on the Maldives’ foreign currency reserves, driven by high import costs, debt repayments and rising overseas card spending. BML’s overseas card transactions reached USD 524 million in 2025, up USD 200 million from the previous year.

No specific details of what the easing will involve have been announced. BML has not yet made a public statement. The end of June deadline gives the bank roughly four weeks to finalise and communicate the changes.