UPI in Maldives is live, but only for a limited cross-border remittance service. Indian tourists still do not have confirmed general access to scan ordinary Maldivian merchant QR codes with Indian UPI apps under the Favara–UPI corridor.
The live service allows eligible customers of participating Maldivian banks to send real-time person-to-person transfers from the Maldives to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.
Can Indian tourists use UPI in the Maldives now?
Not for ordinary Maldivian merchant QR payments under the currently verified Favara–UPI service.
The operational service is a Maldives-to-India person-to-person remittance corridor. Eligible customers of participating Maldivian banks can send money to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.
The Government of India says subsequent phases will introduce additional cross-border payment use cases, including QR-based merchant payments. Current official information does not confirm that general merchant-QR acceptance for Indian tourists has launched in the Maldives.
The currently confirmed service is a cross-border remittance connection between Favara and UPI, not general Indian-tourist merchant acceptance throughout the Maldives.
In this guide
UPI in Maldives at a glance
- The Favara–UPI corridor went live on July 30, 2026.
- Current verified direction: Maldives to India.
- Current verified use case: person-to-person remittances.
- Initial participating banks: Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank.
- Transfers are initiated through participating banks’ digital-banking channels.
- Recipients in India receive INR in eligible UPI-enabled bank accounts.
- Maldives Islamic Bank publishes a monthly limit of USD 250 or the equivalent amount in MVR for its corridor service.
- The Government of India identifies permitted family-maintenance and gift-related remittance categories, subject to applicable rules.
- QR-based merchant payments are identified as a subsequent-phase use case.
- India-to-Maldives transfers are not confirmed operational by the current official information checked through September 15, 2026.
UPI in Maldives: what exactly is live now?
The integration between the Maldives Instant Payment System, Favara, and India’s Unified Payments Interface went live on July 30, 2026.
The first operational use case allows eligible individuals in the Maldives to transfer funds in real time to beneficiaries in India.
The Government of India says customers of Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank can initiate person-to-person transfers to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India through participating banks’ digital channels.
Transactions are initiated in Maldivian Rufiyaa and credited to recipients in Indian Rupees through UPI.
Maldives Islamic Bank separately confirms that its corridor service currently supports P2P transactions from customers’ MVR accounts, subject to applicable rules and limits.
UPI in Maldives: what works now versus what does not
| Action | Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Maldivian bank customer sends money to India | Available | Eligible customers of participating banks can make real-time P2P transfers to India. |
| Indian beneficiary receives INR | Available | Funds can be credited to an eligible UPI-enabled bank account in India. |
| India sends money to Maldives | Not confirmed live | Current official material confirms the Maldives-to-India remittance service but does not announce an operational reverse direction. |
| Indian tourist scans an ordinary Maldivian merchant QR | Not confirmed live | Current official information does not establish general Indian-UPI merchant acceptance in the Maldives through Favara–UPI. |
| QR-based merchant payments | Subsequent phase | The Government of India and Maldives government material identify QR-based merchant payments as an additional future use case. |
| Cash withdrawal | Not part of the verified service | The confirmed product is a cross-border digital-transfer corridor. |
| Every Maldivian bank | No | The initial phase commenced with Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank. |
| Separate remittance app | Not required under the launch model | The service is integrated with participating banks’ digital platforms. |
Who can use the Favara–UPI corridor?
The live service is for eligible customers of participating Maldivian banks sending permitted person-to-person remittances to India.
The sender must satisfy the participating bank’s account, remittance, foreign-exchange and compliance requirements.
The Indian side is the receiving side in the currently confirmed operational use case.
Potential users include:
- eligible Maldivian-bank customers sending permitted P2P remittances to India;
- customers making permitted family-maintenance transfers;
- customers using another permitted remittance category offered by their participating bank under applicable rules; and
- beneficiaries in India receiving funds into eligible UPI-enabled bank accounts.
Indian tourists using Indian UPI apps are not the sending users in the currently confirmed remittance use case.
Which banks support the service?
Bank of Maldives
Bank of Maldives is one of the two banks identified in the initial rollout. Customers should rely on BML’s current digital interface and terms for the transaction options, limits, charges and beneficiary information available to them.
Maldives Islamic Bank
MIB confirms participation in the India–Maldives UPI Corridor, P2P transfers from MVR accounts and a monthly transaction limit of USD 250 or the equivalent amount in MVR for its service.
What is the transfer limit?
Maldives Islamic Bank publishes a monthly limit of USD 250 or the equivalent amount in Maldivian Rufiyaa for its India–Maldives UPI Corridor service.
Customers should check the participating bank’s current interface for the limit that applies to their own account and transaction.
Which transfer purposes are allowed?
The Government of India’s official Favara–UPI launch release identifies permitted remittance categories that include:
- family-maintenance-related remittances under the applicable framework; and
- gift-related outward remittances permitted under applicable rules.
Maldives Islamic Bank
MIB says its corridor service currently supports person-to-person transactions and family-maintenance transfers, subject to applicable regulations and rules.
Do not assume every corridor-level category is automatically available to every customer through every participating bank. The bank’s current interface and terms control what that customer can submit.
What does the recipient in India need?
The Government of India describes transfers to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.
The exact recipient identifiers requested can depend on the sending bank’s implementation.
What exchange rate and fees apply?
The cross-border transfer involves conversion from Maldivian Rufiyaa into Indian Rupees before the beneficiary is credited in India.
Fees and exchange rates should be checked in the participating bank’s current transaction interface before authorisation.
No single universal fee schedule covering both initial participating banks has been confirmed.
How does the transfer work?
- The sender opens the participating Maldivian bank’s supported digital-banking channel.
- The sender selects the available India or Favara–UPI transfer route.
- The bank requests the beneficiary and permitted-purpose information required for the transaction.
- The destination information is verified through the connected payment systems.
- The sender reviews the beneficiary details, transfer amount, exchange rate and any applicable fee shown by the bank.
- The sender authorises the transaction.
- The payment is routed through the Favara–UPI connection for credit to the eligible Indian beneficiary account in INR.
When will merchant QR and India-to-Maldives transfers begin?
No confirmed public launch date for general merchant QR acceptance or the reverse India-to-Maldives transfer direction was identified through September 15, 2026.
The Government of India’s July launch release says subsequent phases will introduce additional cross-border payment use cases, including QR-based merchant payments.
The Maldives government’s description of the rollout similarly says the first phase supports P2P transfers and that subsequent phases will add additional cross-border payment use cases.
A Government of India UPI backgrounder published on August 24 states that cross-border remittances between Favara and UPI went live on July 30. It describes UPI’s international footprint as covering UPI acceptance and/or cross-border remittances, which means UPI being listed as live in a country does not by itself establish merchant acceptance there.
How is this different from ordinary UPI?
| Payment type | Typical use | Difference here |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic UPI transfer | Transfer between eligible accounts in India | The Favara–UPI corridor links two national payment systems and operates within cross-border remittance and foreign-exchange rules. |
| International UPI merchant payment | An Indian user pays an enabled overseas merchant | General Indian-tourist merchant QR acceptance in the Maldives is not confirmed as part of the current Favara–UPI remittance service. |
| Cross-border P2P remittance | One person sends money to another across countries | This is the currently confirmed Favara–UPI use case: Maldives to India through participating Maldivian banks. |
What should users do now?
Practical checklist
- Confirm that the sender uses a participating Maldivian bank.
- Open the bank’s current India or Favara–UPI transfer option.
- Check the live purpose options.
- Check the customer’s available transfer limit.
- Enter the beneficiary information requested by the bank.
- Verify the recipient details before authorisation.
- Review the exchange rate and any bank fee.
- Keep the transaction acknowledgement or reference number.
- Do not assume India-to-Maldives transfers or Maldivian merchant QR payments are already live.
The key point is that UPI in Maldives currently means a confirmed Maldives-to-India cross-border remittance corridor, not universal Indian-UPI merchant acceptance throughout the Maldives.
What should readers not assume?
- Indian UPI apps work at every Maldivian merchant.
- The Favara–UPI corridor currently works in both directions.
- Every Maldivian bank supports the cross-border corridor.
- BML and MIB necessarily expose identical transaction purposes or limits.
- USD 250 is guaranteed for every participating-bank customer.
- A UPI ID alone is always sufficient beneficiary information.
- There is one universal fee or exchange rate.
- QR merchant payments already have a confirmed public launch date.
UPI in Maldives: frequently asked questions
Can Indian tourists use Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm in the Maldives now?
General ordinary Maldivian merchant payments through the currently confirmed Favara–UPI service are not live. The verified use case is Maldives-to-India P2P remittance, while QR-based merchant payments are identified as a subsequent-phase use case.
Can someone in India send money to the Maldives?
No current official source checked through September 15, 2026 confirms an operational India-to-Maldives reverse direction under Favara–UPI.
Which banks support the current cross-border service?
Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank are the two banks identified in the initial operational phase.
What is the monthly transfer limit?
Maldives Islamic Bank publishes a monthly limit of USD 250 or the equivalent amount in Maldivian Rufiyaa for its service. Check the sender’s own bank for the limit that applies to that customer.
What purposes are allowed?
Government of India material identifies permitted family-maintenance-related and gift-related remittance categories under the applicable framework. MIB confirms P2P and family-maintenance use subject to applicable regulations and rules. The customer’s bank interface determines the options actually available.
Does the sender need a separate UPI app?
The initial corridor is integrated with participating Maldivian banks’ digital platforms rather than requiring the sender to use an Indian consumer UPI app.
Does the recipient need a particular UPI app?
The official launch material refers to a UPI-enabled bank account in India rather than one mandatory consumer application. Follow the beneficiary fields requested by the sending bank.
What exchange rate and fee apply?
Check the participating bank’s live transaction screen before authorisation. A universal fee schedule for both initial participating banks is not confirmed.
Can Maldivian businesses receive payments from Indian tourists through this corridor?
General Indian-tourist QR merchant payments are not confirmed live under the current Favara–UPI service. QR-based merchant payments are identified as a subsequent-phase use case.
What remains unconfirmed?
- The public launch date for general QR-based merchant payments.
- The public launch date for India-to-Maldives transfers.
- A universal operating checklist covering both participating banks.
- A universal fee schedule covering both participating banks.
- A universal beneficiary identifier used by every participating-bank interface.
- When additional Maldivian banks will join the cross-border service.
- Whether all eligible Indian beneficiary accounts receive transfers under identical processing conditions.
Government of India primary source: Ministry of Finance — Favara-UPI Cross-Border Payment Corridor Goes Live Between Maldives and India.
Maldives government confirmation: Ministry of Economic Development, Transport & Trade — Favara–UPI Cross-Border Integration Goes Live.
Official bank confirmation: Maldives Islamic Bank — India–Maldives UPI Corridor.
Government of India current context: PIB — UPI: Transforming India’s Payment Landscape.
Verification and editorial limitation
Status: Official Government of India, Maldives government and bank material confirms the Favara–UPI go-live, the Maldives-to-India P2P remittance direction, initial BML and MIB participation and plans for additional cross-border payment use cases.
MIB confirmation: Maldives Islamic Bank confirms P2P transactions under the corridor and publishes a USD 250-equivalent monthly limit for its service.
Current status: Official information available through September 15, 2026 continues to describe the Maldives connection as a cross-border remittance service. General Indian-tourist merchant QR acceptance and an operational India-to-Maldives reverse direction are not confirmed.
Last verified: September 15, 2026.
Limitation: Bank interfaces, limits, purposes, fees, beneficiary fields and foreign-exchange requirements can change. Verify the participating bank’s current terms and controlling payment or remittance rules before acting.