The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) signed agreements with three banks today to establish the country's first instant payment system.
The central bank signed 'participant agreements' with the Bank of Maldives (BML), Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and the State Bank of India (SBI) at a ceremony held at the MMA. Deputy Governor Aishath Zahir signed the agreements on behalf of the institution.
Deputy CEO Aishath Nooradeen signed on behalf of BML. Managing Director Mufaddal Idris Khumri signed on behalf of MIB whilst the CEO of the SBI branch in Male' signed on behalf of the Indian bank.
Speaking at the ceremony, MMA Governor Ali Hashim noted the work done by employees of the MMA and the three banks on developing the payment system.
The three banks that signed the agreements have completed the necessary tests while some banks that have not completed the tests yet will join the system in the future, Hashim said.
"Next will be the system pilot testing phase. These three banks will take part in the phase. After that, we're expecting to be able to fully launch the system during August," Hashim said.
The central bank started work on setting up a new payment system amid longstanding complaints from local businesses about the lack of an online payment system. The MMA began the work as complaints piled up about the difficulties in transferring money between islands and selling local products internationally.
The MMA says a secure environment would be set up with the new payment system for conducting financial transactions with the most modern facilities. The first phase of the project focuses on domestic transactions.
But connections to the national payment systems of other countries under the second phase will pave the way for instant overseas transactions and the use of payment systems such as Paypal for business transactions, the MMA said.
