Maldives is set to launch India's RuPay service to enhance ties between the two countries, although the exact launch date has not yet been announced.
"We are currently in discussions with India to explore options for enabling payments in rupees," stated the Maldivian minister.
RuPay, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is India's first global card payment network, widely accepted at ATMs, POS devices, and e-commerce websites across India.
Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, emphasized, "Addressing the dollar issue and strengthening the Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) is a top priority for the current administration."
In August 2022, then-President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, remarked, "Both leaders welcomed the ongoing efforts to operationalize the usage of RuPay Cards in Maldives and agreed to consider additional measures to enhance bilateral travel, tourism, and economic ties."
On Wednesday, Maldives announced that both India and China have agreed to collaborate on settling import payments in their respective currencies instead of the US dollar. Saeed mentioned that he met with Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar two weeks ago, who assured that New Delhi would support and cooperate in facilitating import payments in Indian Rupee.
Saeed projected that this move could save Maldives nearly 50% of the annual $1.5 million import bill from both countries.
In July 2023, the Government of India declared that Maldives, among 22 other countries, was allowed by the Reserve Bank of India to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) to promote bilateral trade in local currencies.
In recent years, numerous banks and payment companies worldwide have collaborated with NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), NPCI's international arm, to incorporate UPI and RuPay in various forms.
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