BML raises foreign spending limits for debit card and reduces merchant fees on POS machines

Nov 10, 2025, 10:43 AM
BML raises foreign spending limits for debit card and reduces merchant fees on POS machines

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has increased foreign spending limits for its debit card customers and reduced its Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on debit cards used on BML POS terminals.

BML has maintained the merchant fee at 2.5 percent since the introduction of the POS machine. The bank announced today that it will reduce the fee to 1 percent from tomorrow.

BML said this is a move to help businesses in conjunction with the bank’s 43rd anniversary. This will provide a major relief to the 7,000 businesses using BML's POS machines, the bank said in a statement today.

BML has also decided to introduce an advanced merchant settlement facility to businesses. The advance facility, which is issued without any mortgage, will provide up to MVR 2 million based on transactions in the past six months.

The bank has also increased foreign spending limits for its debit card customers to USD 1,000 per month for POS transactions. Additionally, for medical and travel purposes, the foreign spend limit has been raised to USD 3,000 per month.

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