Bank of Maldives (BML) has said it is not charging any extra fees on e-commerce transactions on any websites beyond those already announced.
A social media rumour claimed the bank was charging extra on online debit card transactions on e-commerce platforms.
Addressing these allegations, BML spokesperson Mohamed Saeed said that no new fees have been added since 1 July last year, when a 30 percent fee was added to e-commerce transactions on MVR debit cards for Temu, Shein, Alibaba, AliExpress, Lazada, and eBay. Claims that fees were discreetly increased across sectors like healthcare, education, and transport, and other e-commerce merchants are baseless, he said.
Saeed clarified that a cross-border fee of up to 30 percent may apply to foreign transactions. However, this is part of its schedule of charges and a standard global banking practice, and not newly introduced, he said. He warned that such rumours could damage the bank’s credibility and pose risks to financial stability.
Customers have been advised to ignore false information and rely only on official BML announcements.