UPI’s global footprint grows as Maldives joins the network

New Delhi: Sending money from the Maldives to India has just become a lot quicker. The Maldives has officially gone live with the Favara-UPI cross-border payment corridor, allowing individuals to transfer funds instantly from their mobile banking apps to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India.

The integration between the Maldives Instant Payment System, Favara, and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) went live on July 30, marking a significant step in digital financial connectivity and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The new service enables customers in the Maldives to initiate transfers in Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR), with beneficiaries in India receiving the funds in Indian Rupees (INR) through the UPI network. Transactions are processed in real time, making cross-border remittances faster and more convenient.

The service has launched with participation from Bank of Maldives Plc and Maldives Islamic Bank Plc. Customers of both banks can use their mobile banking applications to send person-to-person (P2P) transfers directly to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India via the Favara payment system.

In the initial phase, the facility supports family maintenance remittances under both foreign inward and outward remittance categories, as well as eligible gift-related outward remittances.

The project is the result of collaboration between the Maldives Monetary Authority, the Reserve Bank of India, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), participating banks and other stakeholders in both countries.

The agreement to integrate Favara with UPI was signed between NIPL and the Maldives Monetary Authority in July 2025. According to the authorities, the corridor was made operational after an accelerated 10-day programme covering testing, certification, onboarding and live validation.

The two countries plan to expand the partnership in the coming phases by introducing QR code-based merchant payments and additional cross-border digital payment services, paving the way for broader commercial and retail transactions.

The latest launch further strengthens UPI’s growing international footprint. Indian travellers can already use UPI for payments in Cambodia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka. With the Favara-UPI corridor now live, the Maldives also joins India’s expanding network of cross-border digital payment partnerships, making remittances between the two countries faster, simpler and more seamless.