Bank of Maldives (BML) has stated that the time spent on USD transfers will return to normal next week.
BML said that USD stagnation tends to be the highest usually in September and that it adds on to the obstacles the bank faces.
According to BML, foreign transactions from MVR accounts via the bank have increased this year.
An average of USD 81.6 million was sold by the bank up until the end of August 2025, with a total of USD 653 million being sold by the bank in the same timeframe this year, said BML.
"This is around a 33.33 percent or a one-third increase compared to last year. If the bank continues to sell USD at this rate, it is estimated that the amount of USD sold by the end of the year will go up to USD 1 billion," BML said.
Main areas and amounts in USD sales
- Debit and credit card transactions: USD 38 million per month
- Telegraphic transfers (TT): USD 27 million per month
- Maldivians traveling out of the country: USD 9.4 million per month
- Health and educational reasons: USD 7.3 million per month
BML went on to say that due to the amount of USD exiting the bank seeing an increase, TT and interbank transfers including USD transactions have been experiencing delays over the last two weeks.
The bank continued by stating that in order to responsibly and sustainably manage the amount of USD they get and is spent, e-commerce transactions have been limited, with essential transactions now being prioritized.
Due to these steps, the bank said it will aid in keeping balance between the outgoing and incoming USD amounts.
"With this, we estimate USD transactions will go back to normal by the end of next week. Relevant information will be provided to customers via the banks' official communication channels," said BML.
As per the bank, their top priority is facilitating sustainable transactions and essential transactions.
BML stated that they will continue working to maintain themselves as a trusted financial partner to individuals, businesses and the country and as a financially stable bank.
BML also stated that the current situation is temporary instability between USD demand and supply, and that it is not because of the bank's operations or weak balance sheet.
The bank said they will continue to monitor the state of the USD and take security steps ahead of time in order to protect the interests of their customers, shareholders and society as a whole. They expressed their gratitude for the trust from their customers, and the cooperation and assurance from their shareholders.
