India’s RuPay service is launched by Maldives

Maldives has launched India’s RuPay service in a move aimed at boosting the Maldivian Rufiyaa.

The RuPay card, a product of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is widely accepted at ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, and e-commerce websites throughout India. It is the first global card payment network of its sort in India. It makes electronic payments possible at practically all banks and financial institutions in India.

Following bilateral discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu in New Delhi on Monday afternoon, the card service was introduced.

A purchase from Authentic Maldives was the first item made with the RuPay card.

In order to launch RuPay cards in the Maldives, BML and NPCI signed a Memorandum of Understanding back in 2019.

RuPay card has been included as an acceptable card scheme in BML’s network with the launch of the service.

Following the discussions, President Muizzu stated in a joint news release that the launch of the RuPay service will increase financial accessibility.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Modi announced that efforts will be made to link Maldives and India to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instantaneous payment system in India that enables peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions between banks.

During the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Male in August, the Maldives and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding over the introduction of the NPCI’s UPI system in the Maldives. Jaishankar noted at the time that the UPI had changed digital transactions in India, and would tremendously assist the Maldivian economy, notably its tourism industry.