Ooredoo Maldives' Head of Fintech and Partnerships, Ahmed Numan, has said the company's immediate priority is enabling Maldivians to directly access US dollars through its newly launched PayPal service, while additional features are expected to be introduced in the future.

Numan made the remarks during an information session on PayPal organised by the Ministry of Economic Development, Transport and Trade and Ooredoo Maldives.

The session was attended by Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed, Ooredoo Maldives Chief Commercial Officer Hussain Niyaz and the ministry's consultant on trade and investment, Shuhad Ibrahim.

Numan said the primary objective of introducing PayPal through Ooredoo M-Faisaa is to make it easier for users to access and transfer US dollars. He added that features familiar to global PayPal users, including merchant services and other offerings, are expected to be made available in the Maldives in the near future. He also said Ooredoo plans to work closely with developers and the local technology sector to further enhance the service and expand its capabilities.

Under the newly introduced system, funds received through PayPal via M-Faisaa can be transferred directly to US dollar accounts at the Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank within minutes. According to Numan, the transfer process takes less than three minutes. He noted that the service underwent extensive testing before its launch to ensure reliability and efficiency.

Numan added that the new PayPal service is expected to particularly benefit guesthouse operators and small businesses by making it easier to receive payments from international customers and tourists.