Favara and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) are now connected for real-time person-to-person transfers from the Maldives to India. In the initial phase, customers of Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank can initiate a transfer in Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) through their bank’s digital platform; the beneficiary in India receives Indian rupees (INR) through UPI. The announcement does not describe transfers in the reverse direction.
What the Favara–UPI launch enables
The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) describes the connection as Favara’s first international integration. Its announcement says individuals in the Maldives can transfer funds through Favara to beneficiaries in India in real time. The sender starts the payment in MVR, and the recipient is credited in INR.
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This is a cross-border person-to-person (P2P) service, not a general announcement that every UPI feature is available in the Maldives. Favara is the Maldives’ instant payment system; UPI is the Indian payment interface used to credit the recipient’s account. The government announcement names the MMA, Reserve Bank of India, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), participating financial institutions and other stakeholders as collaborators.
Who can send money in the initial phase
The launch announcement names customers of two Maldivian banks as eligible to initiate transfers through their banks’ digital platforms:
- Bank of Maldives
- Maldives Islamic Bank
The announced route is from the Maldives to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India. The public announcement does not identify additional participating Maldivian banks or establish that customers of all banks can use the corridor. Confirm availability and eligibility directly with one of the named banks.
How to send a transfer
The announcement confirms the participating banks’ digital platforms as the access point, but it does not publish a detailed app workflow. Use your bank’s current instructions rather than assuming a particular menu name or sequence.
- Check with Bank of Maldives or Maldives Islamic Bank that your account and digital-banking access are eligible for the cross-border service.
- Follow that bank’s in-app or internet-banking instructions to start a Favara-to-UPI transfer.
- Review the recipient and the displayed amount, exchange rate and any fee before confirming, if the bank presents those details. The launch announcement does not specify how the rate is set or what fees apply.
- Keep the confirmation and contact the bank if the transfer is delayed, rejected or sent to an incorrect recipient. The announcement does not state corridor-specific delivery exceptions, refunds or dispute procedures.
Fees, exchange rates and limits are not yet specified
The announcement does not publish the corridor’s transfer fees, exchange-rate source or markup, per-transfer or daily limits, or detailed customer-eligibility rules. It also gives no corridor-specific transaction-volume, value or performance figures. These terms may depend on the participating bank and can change; ask your bank for the current terms before sending money. Do not assume that domestic Favara limits or terms for other UPI services apply.
Can you pay Indian merchants or send money from India?
Merchant payments are a later phase
No. The initial service described is for person-to-person transfers. The announcement says person-to-merchant payments in India are expected to be added in a coming year and describes QR-based merchant payments and other digital payment services as subsequent phases. It gives no firm merchant-launch date, so the announcement does not establish that Favara users can already pay Indian merchants by scanning a QR code.
India-to-Maldives transfers are not confirmed
The announcement describes people in the Maldives sending funds to beneficiaries in India. It does not say that users in India can send funds to the Maldives through this corridor. General UPI information about international merchant QR payments or eligible non-resident accounts does not establish that either capability is available through Favara.
Quick Recap
How the service developed
- August 26, 2023: MMA launched Favara as the Maldives Instant Payment System. The launch notice described domestic interbank transfers, Favara ID and Favara Request, with access through participating banks’ or service providers’ internet banking and mobile applications.
- October 20, 2024: The President’s Office said the President had decided to take steps to introduce UPI in the Maldives and establish a consortium led by TradeNet Maldives Corporation.
- 2025: MMA’s annual report said it signed an agreement with NIPL to connect Favara with UPI. The report described the intended service as instant, secure and lower-cost; that description is an objective, not published evidence of measured savings.
- 2026: The government announced that the Favara–UPI integration had gone live. The announcement page displays conflicting dates—September 30, 2026 in its metadata and July 30, 2026 in its body—so a more precise publication date cannot be stated confidently.
Official sources
- Maldives Ministry of Economic Development, Transport & Trade: Favara–UPI cross-border payment service goes live
- Maldives Monetary Authority: Annual Report 2025
- President’s Office: 2024 announcement on introducing UPI in the Maldives
- Maldives Monetary Authority: Favara Bulletin 2024 (domestic system statistics and background, not corridor performance)
- NPCI: UPI Global Acceptance (general international merchant acceptance information, not confirmation of Favara corridor availability)
- NPCI: UPI Global FAQs (general guidance, not confirmation of Favara corridor eligibility or transfer direction)
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