The Bank of Maldives (BML) is accused of misleading the public by claiming that the foreign transaction limit on its Rufiyaa Debit Cards was not increased in July this year, and not decreased last month.
This allegation arose after BML spokesperson, Mohamed Saeed, posted a graphic showing the E-commerce limit remaining at $250 since the beginning of the year. However, previous BML statements and public information prove this is false.
BML had announced on June 30 that the overall debit card limit would be increased to $500.
This change was made following criticism after the bank introduced a 30 percent fee on payments to certain overseas commercial sites.
Public records, including BML's own press releases and screenshots of customer transactions, confirm the $500 limit was in effect from July until November 11. BML's digital assistant, "Aaya," also confirmed the $500 limit for purchases on foreign sites during that period.
When questioned by a news outlet, the spokesperson insisted his recent statement was not false, but the bank's media team offered no further clarification regarding the conflicting evidence.
Following a change on November 11, BML set new limits: $1,000 monthly for overseas card machine (POS) transactions, and a $3,000 monthly limit for payments related to ticketing, hotel bookings, or medical purposes.
BML recently warned, in a statement on December 7, that it would take action against customers misusing these new limits. This misuse includes giving cards to third parties for use abroad; the bank noted one instance of an individual using over 100 cards overseas.
