BML allocates USD 73 million for business TTs in 2025

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has provided over USD 73 million (MVR 1.1 billion) in foreign currency for international transactions (TTs) by Maldivian businesses in the first eight months of this year, the bank revealed today.

This marks a significant increase compared to the USD 69 million provided in the entire year of 2024.

The rise in dollar sales is largely due to the government allowing businesses to access a larger share of their requested TT amounts.

This move comes as part of a broader effort to ease the dollar shortage in the Maldives.

To address the issue, the tourism industry, the Maldives’ biggest source of foreign currency, has been mandated to deposit more of its earnings in banks.

Under the Foreign Exchange Act, banks must sell a portion of these earnings to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). Previously, the requirement was 60 percent, but since June last year, it has been raised to 90 percent.

This increase has allowed the MMA to allocate more dollars to banks for telegraphic transfers (TTs) and letters of credit (LCs) for imports. Just last month, dollar allocations to banks were increased by 10 percent.

As a result of these changes, the MMA reports a 40 percent increase in the amount of dollars now being sold to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Currently, SMEs are receiving 30 percent of their TT requests in dollars through banks. The MMA aims to raise this figure to 50 percent, further strengthening business access to foreign currency.