President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said that significant relief is expected by the end of this month for the foreign transaction limits currently imposed on Bank of Maldives (BML) cards.

The President made the remarks during a press briefing held at the President's Office on Monday in response to a question regarding efforts to address the country's dollar shortage.

President Dr Muizzu said the restrictions were introduced due to challenges faced by BML. However, following discussions with the bank, indications had been received that the limits could be eased considerably by the end of the month.

BML previously stated that limits on overseas e-commerce and online retail transactions made using rufiyaa cards were introduced following a decline in foreign currency inflows. The bank attributed the reduction to lower tourism-related foreign currency earnings during the off-season and the impact of Middle East tensions.

Under the current arrangement, BML allocates a fixed daily foreign currency budget for online retail transactions. Once that allocation is exhausted, some overseas online transactions may be declined until the following day. However, the bank has clarified that cards linked to US dollar accounts are not subject to these restrictions.