Parliament has rejected an emergency motion concerning Bank of Maldives’ (BML) decision to charge a fee of up to 30 percent on online transactions made with Maldivian rufiyaa debit cards.
The new fee, which applies to purchases from six major e-commerce platforms including Temu, Shein, Alibaba, AliExpress, Lazada, and eBay has sparked concern among consumers who frequently use these sites.
The emergency motion was submitted by Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir. However, it was dismissed without debate after 29 MPs voted against it and 11 supported it.
In his motion, MP Mauroof criticized the move, stating it is a sudden and unexpected development that would affect many Maldivians.
He said that such unexpected changes by the government would make it even harder for people to access US dollars, especially given that the dollar continues to trade at over MVR 20 on the black market.
The motion also raised concerns over a separate policy requiring resorts to denominate revenue in dollars at Maldivian banks and transfer 90 percent of those funds to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
MP Mauroof said this change has made it increasingly difficult for importers to obtain foreign currency and has led to banks halting dollar sales to them.
