News Desk
MALE’ — Bank of Maldives says more than 20,000 Maldivians are now using Swipe, its digital wallet launched in March, as the bank expands the platform to allow users to open accounts in US dollars, pounds and euros and receive international payments directly.
BML Chief Executive Mohamed Shareef made the disclosure at the launch of the bank’s Youth Entrepreneurs Forum, describing Swipe as a tool that will play a central role in the government’s ambition to grow the digital economy to 15 percent of GDP by 2030.
Swipe is a fully Maldivian-built product, designed to meet international financial transaction standards. Users can currently send and receive money internationally without additional fees, pay at more than 3,300 businesses across the country and transfer funds between local and international parties.
The latest development allows BML customers to open international accounts through Swipe after completing an electronic verification process, with each account receiving its own international bank account number. The practical effect, Shareef said, is that a freelancer or content creator receiving payment from the United Kingdom, for instance, will have the funds arrive instantly as a local payment in pounds, directly into their Swipe wallet, from where it can be transferred to a dollar account at any time.
International users can also register on Swipe after completing e-KYC verification, allowing them to send money to the Maldives and pay local businesses.
BML is also in talks with Alipay, WeChat Pay, Mastercard and Visa to enable international payments without a physical card. Shareef said that service is expected to launch later this year.
For Maldivian freelancers and small business owners who have long navigated the friction of receiving foreign currency payments, the international account feature removes a barrier that has pushed many toward informal transfer channels.