Bank of Maldives (BML) launched its digital wallet "Swipe" tonight in Addu, offering major benefits to businesses, tourists, and the general public.
The 100 percent Maldivian-made product, "Swipe," was inaugurated by Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan at a special ceremony held in Hithadhoo, Addu.
Speaking at the ceremony held at Hithadhoo School, BML CEO and MD Mohamed Shareef stated that BML’s digital wallet was created in alignment with Maldivian regulatory standards and international payment standard benchmarks.
"Therefore, this is a multi-currency digital wallet that allows financial transactions to be conducted easily, quickly, and securely within the Maldives and abroad. This digital wallet is also a product that showcases the Maldives and the talent of Maldivian fintech in the global digital financial market," he said.
Shareef stated that the introduction of Swipe is a significant advancement in the efforts to achieve BML’s goal of becoming the best digital bank in this region.
- Customers can send money instantly. They can receive funds into their multi-currency accounts from any country.
- Funds can be deposited into the Swipe wallet using debit, credit, or prepaid cards issued by any bank in the world.
- Money can be sent to and withdrawn from BML accounts.
- When customers pay via Swipe, the funds will be deposited into that business instantly. This means that even if it is a holiday, payments made through Swipe will be credited immediately.
- Swipe is the official wallet for tourists visiting the Maldives. While tourists currently pay commissions of over 2.5 percent when using other wallets or credit cards in the Maldives, transactions made through Swipe will only incur a one percent fee.
- Charges are applied when using other global wallets like PayPal or Wise to pay for things in the Maldives. Sometimes, a 15-dollar charge is taken for 100 dollars. However, no fees will be charged for money brought from abroad into a personal wallet via Swipe.
- Swipe will also assist freelancers and those who conduct business online to receive payments from clients or customers in different countries.
At tonight’s ceremony, BML MD Shareef said that a primary reason for introducing Swipe to tourists is because BML believes that while the Maldives has an international tourism industry, it is important to have financial products of that same standard within the country.
"The main purpose of launching this wallet during ITB Berlin last week was because we believe this is a wallet that will bring immense benefits to the Maldivian tourism industry," he said.
Shareef stated that as the national bank, BML’s mandate is to assist the economic and social well-being of Maldivians through financial services such as Swipe.
