The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s instant payment system (IPS) ‘Favara’ saw 3,678 transactions, valued at a total of MVR10.6 million, within 48 hours of launch, the central bank has revealed.
Favara services are facilitated through digital channels, such as websites and apps, of participating banks. Currently, there are three participating banks; Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB), State Bank of India (SBI), and Bank of Maldives (BML), with the remaining banks in the Maldives also currently in the process of adopting Favara, according to MMA.
The central bank is also set to launch an application for Favara.
Once a Favara ID is created, customers can transfer money from one account to another using easy-to-remember identifiers such as email or phone number instead of a bank account number.
Favara facilitates Favara ID and Favara Request between accounts within the same bank and accounts between different participating banks. Currently, the maximum limit for a Favara Transfers is MVR50,000, and for Favara Requests, the maximum limit is MVR5,000.