The CEO of Bank of Maldives (BML) Mr. Timothy Sawyer has assured on expanding the US Dollar limit on credit/debit card transactions.
Mr. Sawyer made the affirmation noting that foreign transactions amount to nearly USD20 million on a monthly basis.
While speaking at the bank's Annual General Meeting held on Sunday evening, 29th May, Mr. Sawyer had also noted that the bank exclusively will not be able to bring resolution to the issues surrounding constraints of Dollar availability.
However, he had affirmed that the bank was continuously working to find practical solutions to mitigate the issues.
The bank had last extended its credit card limit back in October 2021, during which the limit was expanded to USD750 as maximum transactional limit on local accounts.
Following the heavy economic brunt faced by the world, as well as the Maldives during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, BML had placed limitations on Dollar transactions.
The first set limit under this move stood at USD250, which was then extended to USD500 by July 2021.
"Since the Federal Reserve in USA started to unwind quantitative easing late last year, over a trillion dollars have been removed from international dollar markets and this will continue," Mr. Sawyer said.
While addressing the Dollar shortage, he further acknowledged the underlying situation around limitations of Dollar transactions, and said "we cannot of course use customer deposits - to support TT, credit card purchases or support locals living and studying abroad. This in the medium term, is not a sustainable position for the country."
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