Bank of Maldives (BML) has stated small and medium enterprises (SME) can request access to BML's Payment Gateway services for receiving USD payments from today onwards.

With the service, the bank said a system where USD payments will be accepted for Maldivian manufacturers and SMEs that sell goods and services on the international market in any country in the world will go into effect. The bank also said manufacturers and SMEs will be able to make payments for various subscriptions and other international transactions via the USD Debit Card that is issued to the USD account that has deposits made from said transactions.

BML went on to say that the Business Center Corporation (BCC) portal will present the opportunity to request the service sometime today. Once the requesting party is presented with a referral from BCC, the bank will call the business and proceed to acquire documents and undergo registration. Once this is done, BML said they will link the customer's account to the Payment Gateway.

This is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Economic Development, Transport and Trade and BCC. The main purpose of the service is to facilitate foreign currency payments from foreign customers to SMEs that provide goods from international markets and services.