BML released over USD 1 million for Umrah pilgrims during Ramadan

Bank of Maldives (BML) disbursed over USD 1 million to Maldivian pilgrims who travelled for Umrah during Ramadan, the President’s Office said.

According to the statement, an additional USD 1,500 limit was allocated to the BML debit card of each pilgrim last Ramadan, following a request by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

This brought the total amount released at the official exchange rate of MVR 15.42 per dollar to USD 1,005,172.82.

A total of 8,979 debit card transactions were recorded during the period, with 1,300 pilgrims using BML debit cards.

President Muizzu has once more requested BML to raise the dollar limit for pilgrims. BML has agreed to increase the total debit card limit to USD 2,000 per pilgrim. Additionally, each pilgrim will receive USD 500 from MMA for each departure from Maldives.

President’s Office stated that the government is actively working toward long-term solutions to challenges in the foreign exchange market.

This includes introducing and implementing a foreign exchange law, which came into effect at the end of last year. Since then, official reserves have seen an improvement.

Starting this September, state-owned enterprises will be able to access US dollars at the official rate without relying on the parallel market, the President’s Office added.