The cabinet decided on Sunday to instruct the Bank of Maldives (BML) to begin work on introducing e-wallet services within a week.
The cabinet decision was made as part of efforts to implement a policy to foster a creative economy for the art sector. Removing obstacles for inward money transfers through online payment platforms was a campaign pledge of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
After deliberations at yesterday's cabinet meeting on a paper presented by the Economic Ministry on online payments, a decision was made to begin work on introducing PayPal and other online payment platforms, Principal Secretary on Public Policy Abdulla Nazim said.
Nazim said the government decided to hold discussions on seeking PayPal access with the government of the United States, where the PayPal company is based. Discussions will take place with the relevant authorities on introducing other payment platforms, he added. According to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's manifesto, the platforms include Payoneer, Skrill, Stripe and Neteller.
The cabinet also decided to begin work on enacting a cyber security law alongside the introduction of online payment platforms. The work will be done with the help of the governments of UAE and Türkiye, Nazim said.
"Discussions will take place with the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye, two countries that are currently assisting the government with strengthening cyber security," Nazim said.
Together with a cyber security law, the government also decided to develop cyber security infrastructure and increase capacities, which was important at a time when the government was aiming to introduce online payment services and expand the digital economy, he said.
