By the third quarter of 2026, the amount of money sent abroad through the Bank of Maldives (BML) has reached USD 2.86 billion.
BML stated last night that these transactions were conducted through more than 373,600 remittances.
Looking at the past nine months, BML has provided USD 722 million to customers. This averages to USD 80 million per month. By the end of 2025, the bank had provided USD 733 million. Therefore, during the first 9 months of 2026, the bank has provided an amount equivalent to the total dollars provided to customers throughout the entirety of 2025.
During the past nine months, USD 2.96 billion have flowed into BML through remittances and card settlements. This is a 15 percent increase compared to the first nine months of 2025.
In September of 2026, BML received USD 240 million in foreign currency. However, this is six percent lower than September of 2025, and 27 percent lower than the average of the first nine months of 2026.
BML stated that September is generally a month when obtaining foreign currency is difficult. Therefore, the bank stated that it always prepares for this.
Since this period coincides with the start of the new academic year for students studying abroad, the demand for foreign currency for educational expenses increases significantly during this time, according to BML. Last month, BML disbursed USD 8.2 million for educational purposes. The bank stated that this is approximately double the amount disbursed in an average month.
Starting from September, BML has limited ATM withdrawals to USD 3,500 per month.
BML is the bank that handles the largest share of foreign currency transactions in the Maldives. This includes importing goods, paying suppliers, assisting families living abroad, and arranging foreign currency needed for educational and medical purposes.
Breakdown of the foreign currency disbursed by BML during the first nine months of 2026:
- Card transactions: USD 336 million disbursed. During this period, the average amount of transactions conducted abroad using rufiyaa account cards reached USD 37 million per month. Out of this, USD 208 million (total 62 percent) was spent on e-commerce transactions, USD 93 million on overseas point-of-sale transactions, and USD 34 million withdrawn via ATMs.
- Telegraphic Transfers (TT): USD 224 million. The foreign currency sold by the bank for customer-submitted TTs has already exceeded the USD 175 million disbursed for the entire year of 2025 by 28 percent.
- Cash disbursed for travel: USD 86 million. This includes USD 5.8 million disbursed to individuals traveling abroad for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
- For educational purposes: USD 40 million. An average of USD 4.4 million has been disbursed monthly to support students studying abroad.
- For medical purposes: USD 33 million. This is more than double the USD 14 million disbursed throughout the whole of 2025.
BML stated that the high cost of acquiring US dollars in the global market and the rapid increase in domestic demand for US dollars in the local market pose significant challenges to the bank's foreign currency resources.
BML stated that it manages these challenges by maintaining its balance sheet under sound principles. This includes increasing and retaining foreign currency deposits, expanding avenues to obtain long-term foreign currency funding, and regularly reviewing the bank's products and pricing in accordance with market conditions and the bank's risk appetite.
