Dollar limit not decreased; efforts ongoing to resolve issue: Finance Ministry

Ministry of Finance has dismissed reports of a further decrease of the card limit on foreign transfers and said that efforts are ongoing to resolve the difficulties faced by the public due to the card limit issue.

Earlier today, several local media outlets reported that an anonymous source from Bank of Maldives (BML) had revealed that the card limit would be decreased by as much as up to 90 percent due to the dollar shortage faced by the bank, although an exact limit was not confirmed.

If the card limit was decreased as the source had indicated, BML customers would have been able to use USD 25 on debit cards used in the country, and USD 75 on debit cards used by those living abroad. Credit card limits would also have been brought down to USD 75.

With this news circulating on media and social media, Finance Ministry released a statement dismissing the reports, confirming that the bank is not taking any such action.

The statement says, with confirmation from BML, that no decision had been reached as of yet to limit dollar transactions on cards.

However, the reports also do not claim that such a decision has been made as of yet, but rather that there are ongoing deliberations to put such measures in effect in the near future.

"Bank of Maldives has confirmed to this Ministry that the bank has not taken any decisions as of yet to decrease the foreign currency transactions on credit cards and debit cards," the statement reads.

Finance Ministry further assured that they have started discussions with the Bank of Maldives and the Maldives Monetary Authority to explore ways in which a solution can be found for the dollar shortage issue.

The Ministry appealed to media to refrain from reporting on economically sensitive issues such as this in a manner that may give rise to concerns amongst the public, and to act responsibly and verify information prior to reporting.