India-Maldives digital payments get a boost as Favara-UPI services go live

The Maldives Monetary Authority has announced the successful go-live of the integration between the Maldives Instant Payment System, ‘Favara’, and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to a press statement issued by the Finance Ministry on Friday.

The new service, which kicked in on Thursday, enables individuals in the Maldives to transfer funds using Favara to beneficiaries in India in real time. Transactions are initiated in Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) and credited to recipients in Indian Rupees (INR) through UPI.

"This marks a transformative milestone in cross-border digital financial connectivity and bilateral economic cooperation between the Maldives and India," the statement said.

The service has commenced with the participation of two local banks: Bank of Maldives Plc and Maldives Islamic Bank Plc. Customers of these banks can initiate person-to-person (P2P) transfers directly to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India using their mobile banking applications and the Favara payment rail.

Permitted remittance categories include family-maintenance-related remittances under both Foreign Inward and Foreign Outward Remittance, as well as gift-related remittances permitted under Foreign Outward Remittance.

"The implementation reflects close collaboration between the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), participating financial institutions, and other stakeholders in both countries," the official statement said.

The agreement for the Favara-UPI integration was executed between the NIPL and the MMA in July 2025. This was followed by an accelerated 10-day timeline for testing, certification, onboarding, and live validation, after which the corridor achieved full operational readiness.

Subsequent phases of the collaboration will introduce additional cross-border payment use cases, including QR-based merchant payments and other innovative digital payment services, further strengthening economic and financial ties between the Maldives and India, the statement said.

UPI is already accepted in nine countries -- Cambodia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, and Sri Lanka -- enabling Indian travellers to make seamless payments abroad through UPI.