There has been a rift between India and the Maldives for some time now. Despite the turmoil in bilateral relations, the Maldives will soon launch India’s RuPay service. A senior minister there said this step will strengthen the Maldives’ Rufiyaa.
Payment Will Be Made Through RuPay in Maldives
Maldives Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed talked about the upcoming launch of India’s RuPay. “The upcoming launch of India’s RuPay service is expected to strengthen the Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) further,” Saeed told state-run PSM News on Wednesday.
RuPay, a product of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is the first product of its global card payments network in India. It has gained wide acceptance across India’s ATMs, POS devices, and e-commerce websites.
Talks With India
He also stressed that “addressing the dollar issue and strengthening the MVR is the top priority of the current administration. However, no launch date has been announced. Last week, a news portal quoted Saeed as saying The card will be formally used for rupee transactions in the Maldives, the minister said, adding, We are currently in talks with India to facilitate payments in rupees.”
Rupay’s Threat In India and Abroad
Over the past few years, many banks and payments companies from different countries have partnered with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, to accept some form of UPI and RuPay.
Reason For Rift Between India and Maldives
Relations between the Maldives and India have soured since pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu took power last November. Bilateral ties have soured over the withdrawal of more than 80 Indian military personnel deployed on three aviation platforms from the island nation on his request earlier this month.
