President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu today ratified an amendment brought to the law by the Parliament, granting the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) the power to designate a specific system among the payment systems currently used in the Maldives as the "National Payment Switch."

The President's Office stated that with President Muizzu's ratification of the amendment brought by the Parliament to the National Payment System Act last Monday, enforcement of the amendment has begun as of today.

The purpose of this amendment is to establish principles regarding the establishment and operation of a National Payment Switch to further strengthen and develop the Maldives' financial infrastructure, and to include these principles in the National Payment System Act.

With an article added after Article 15 of that law, it states that the MMA will receive the authority to designate a specific system within the Maldives' national system as the National Payment Switch. Alongside this, payment transactions determined by that authority under regulations made pursuant to that law must be processed and routed through the payment system designated as the National Payment Switch.

The payment system currently prioritized by the government is "Favara." India's payment system "UPI" was also recently connected to Favara. Transactions conducted among banks in the Maldives are also processed through Favara.

With this amendment brought to the law, all payment service providers in the Maldives must participate in the system designated as the National Payment Switch within a duration specified in regulations formulated by the MMA.

Additionally, the MMA will permit payment service providers to deliver services under a transitional arrangement during the period of transitioning in that manner.