The Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced sweeping restrictions on foreign transactions, impacting students studying abroad and other customers living outside the Maldives.

Under the new policy, effective from today, students will no longer be able to withdraw dollars from their MVR-linked accounts.

Instead, they will be limited to using USD accounts or face a significant reduction in available funds.

BML confirmed that the new restrictions apply to both existing and newly issued debit and credit cards linked to MVR accounts.

Additionally, the monthly foreign transaction limit for existing standard and gold credit cardholders has been slashed to just USD 100, affecting students and expatriates alike.

BML cited the increasing volume of foreign transactions amid stagnant foreign currency reserves as the primary reason for these changes.

The bank has seen a rising number of foreign transactions, despite limited access to foreign exchange resources.

In a statement, BML CEO and Managing Director Karl Stumke explained that while the bank has facilitated approximately USD 60 million in foreign purchases for customers this year, the number of transactions was three times higher.

This imbalance has necessitated tighter controls on foreign transactions.