BML introduces daily caps and USD 16M monthly ceiling for MVR-card e-commerce spending

The national bank Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced that it has fixed daily limits on the use of rufiyaa cards for international e-commerce transactions. The bank said the limits, which will take effect Sunday, will provide category-based allocations totaling up to USD 16 million per month.

According to BML, the bank is currently providing an average of USD 81.6 million per month for customers’ foreign exchange needs, including overseas transactions made using rufiyaa cards, e-commerce, health, education, transport and telegraphic transfers (TT). That amounts to USD 653 million so far this year, the bank said.

BML said the new limits on e-commerce transactions are a measure to responsibly manage the bank’s foreign currency liquidity. It stressed that this is not a reduction in the bank’s overall supply of dollars to customers.

The bank noted that rufiyaa cards can now be used on more than 40,000 international e-commerce platforms, with usage rising to an average of more than 20,000 transactions per day this year. BML has repeatedly stated that the demand for dollars to settle these transactions has far exceeded the bank’s available foreign currency.

As a result, other essential services, particularly telegraphic transfers, have faced delays, and customer complaints have increased, the bank said. Therefore, to ensure sustainable services and prioritize essential needs, BML has set daily and category-based limits for e-commerce transactions. The bank will review these limits periodically.

USD 16 million per month for e-commerce transactions:  

The 150 most-used platforms (including Temu, Alibaba, Apple and Amazon): USD 3 million per month, approximately USD 100,000 per day. This category excludes education, health, transport and other essential services.

Social media platforms (including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram): USD 1.5 million per month, approximately USD 50,000 per day.

Travel and accommodation (flight tickets and hotel bookings): USD 6 million per month, approximately USD 200,000 per day. A limit of three transactions per customer every three months will apply to prevent bookings made on behalf of others and to ensure availability for personal travel.

Significant subscriptions and other essential services: USD 3 million per month, approximately USD 100,000 per day, covering vital customer needs.

All other merchants (additional e-commerce transactions): USD 1.8 million per month, approximately USD 60,000 per day, an allocation intended to manage discretionary and non-essential spending.

BML said there will be no merchant-level or category limit on health and education expenses. The bank will maintain a separate buffer outside other categories to ensure continuous access to dollars for these services.

Daily category limits will reset at 7:00am. If the limit for a category or merchant is reached on a particular day, customers may retry the transaction the next day or, where available, use a US dollar card.

BML first announced in May last year that it would set limits on transactions made on platforms such as Temu, citing the need to sell more dollars than the bank could sustainably provide. Since then, BML has introduced a dollar investment opportunity, which the bank said in July had enabled an increase in limits for sites such as Temu.