Bank of Maldives (BML) on Tuesday unveiled its latest offering: a new US Dollar Investment offering enabling customers to earn competitive returns.
How Does This Work?
To earn competitive returns, customers must invest US Dollars. The invested funds will support the bank’s fee-generating commercial activities while delivering “attractive returns” to investors.
The invested dollars will be utilized to facilitate the bank’s commercial operations, enabling investors to earn returns while supporting the sustainability of essential banking services.
Information regarding the daily investment pools became available effective Tuesday through BML Mobile App and Internet Banking. The information includes details of the rate of return as well. Both platforms are now enhanced to enable customers to complete their investments online.
Once the investment is made, customers will get the equivalent value in Maldivian currency (MVR = Rufiyaa) instantly. This exchanged value is instantly credited to the bank account of the investor.
The profit earned from the investment will then be credited to the customer’s local currency account on the following day. Moreover, customers can earn returns of up to 25% with a range of investment pools available.
The New Initiative’s Trigger
The bank’s Chief and Managing Director, Mohamed Shareef speaking of the initiative said: “Over the past five years, the volume of US dollars sold for debit and credit card transactions relating to overseas purchases and services has increased 3.7-fold, reaching an average of USD 39.3 million per month this year.”
“During the same period, the number of customers using these services has more than doubled. Today, between 250,000 and 300,000 customers make foreign transactions every month using their MVR cards.”
Shareef further noted that the primary driver behind this surge is the rapid increase in cross-border e-commerce transactions by locals.
“This trend reflects the country’s rapid adoption of digital innovation. Advances in digital payment systems, the expansion of global online marketplaces, and significant improvements in telecommunications and logistics have made international shopping more accessible and affordable than ever before.”
Additionally, Shareef said that the growth reflects continued advancement of the Maldivian economy. He particularly stressed the advancement in digital banking and financial services, crediting it among the reasons of the rise in online cross-border transactions.
The bank acknowledges the profitable nature of the card business, and growth in card transactions, which directly contributes toward the bank’s profitability.
The caveat however, is that the bank’s ability to facilitate such transactions depend on its US dollar income and the acquisition of foreign currency. In the last 36 months, BML sold roughly USD 1.6 billion to meet personal foreign currency requirements and business transactions. Out of this total, 60% went towards card payments.
Shareef highlights the rising demand month-by-month, emphasizing the challenge in sustaining the increasing dollar volumes. Nevertheless, the bank affirms it was not looking to introduce disruptive measures such a large customer segment rely on.
“Our objective is to ensure that this service remains sustainable,” Shareef said.
The Rationale for the Initiative
“To achieve this, we have created an investment model that benefits investors, card users and the Bank alike,” Shareef commented. The Bank will use the invested funds to facilitate e-commerce retail transactions and other fee-generating activities. Bank will then deduct operational costs and then distribute resulting income to investors as returns.
“This allows the Bank to secure the foreign currency needed to meet the essential needs of our customers,” Shareef further added. The bank’s aim with this is enhancing a sustainable ecosystem delivering value to investors and customers.
The launch event included a live demonstration of the US Dollar Investment offering as well. This demonstration gave a real-time experience to participants.
After the demonstration, the Bank’s CEO answered questions from media and attendees to provide further insight and clarity about the offering.