Despite turbulent ties, Maldives to launch India's RuPay service

Male: Even when the turbulence in ties with India is on, Maldives is all set to launch India's RuPay service, which "will bolster the Maldivian Rufiyaa", a senior Maldivian minister said.

RuPay is a product of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is also the first of its global card payment network in India. This has a wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites in India, PTI reported.

Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed told state-run PSM News on Wednesday, "The upcoming launch of India's RuPay service is anticipated to further bolster the Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)."

Mentioning how both India and China have agreed to use local currency in bilateral trade, he said that addressing the dollar issue and reinforcing the MVR is a top priority for the current Maldivian administration.

However, the date of launch of the RuPay service is yet to be announced.

Last week, a news portal, CorporateMaldives.com, reported that Saeed conveyed that the card will be "formally utilised for transactions denominated in rupees within Maldivian territory." "We are currently engaged in discussions with India to explore avenues for facilitating payments in rupees," the minister said.

An India-Maldives joint statement during the official visit of the then President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to India in August 2022 said: "The two leaders welcomed the ongoing work to operationalise the usage of Rupay Cards in Maldives and agreed to consider further measures to boost bilateral travel and tourism and economic inter-linkages." Over the last few years, multiple banks and payment companies from across various countries have partnered with NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, to accept UPI and RuPay in one form or another.