Finance Ministry says the government and the Bank of Maldives are working on establishing a system that would lead the pathway for the bank to increase its oversee withdrawal limit on credit and debit cards to Maldivian students studying abroad.
The Government announced last month that it had decided to increase the overseas withdrawal limit on BML cards for Maldivian students from USD 750 every month to USD 1,200. The change was scheduled to go into effect starting the 1st of February.
However, the Finance Ministry conceded today that it would be difficult to implement the decision tomorrow as the country is facing a massive shortage of US dollars.
The Ministry said BML along with the Central Bank Maldives Monetary Authority MMA and the Ministry of Higher Education Labor and Skills Development were engaged in talks to make it happen.
The Finance Ministry also stated that to make sure that only local students studying abroad are benefiting from the limit increase, the Ministry of Higher Education is compiling a registry of Maldivian students currently studying abroad.
The Ministry assured that it is working alongside the MMA and the banks operating in the Maldives to increase the State Reserve and ease the dollar shortage in the country.
