Male’, Maldives – Bank of Maldives (BML) has blocked cards issued by the bank from being used on any cryptocurrency, online trading or gambling websites.
In a statement released by BML, it said that the bank would be “re-doubling its efforts to disable the use of its cards for online transactions that facilitate illegal activities”, and said that in addition to the unlawful activities such as gambling, transactions on online trading platforms which have seen exponential growth over the past few months, has also been restricted.
“At a time when dollar availability is limited, money transfers to these online trading platforms result in an increase in the non-essential outflow of dollars from the country” the bank justified.
The statement went on to explain that it is critical to secure dollars for essential imports as a means of supporting the economy during “this challenging period of time”, due to which all non essential foreign transactions have been halted. It also said that the bank would continue to monitor use of its cards on foreign transactions and will take action to block transactions without prior notice.
BML further revealed that this decision has been informed to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), as well as other relevant government institutions as well.
