Maldives Central Bank Moves to End USD 500‑Per‑Tourist Foreign‑Exchange Option for Grade A Resorts

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has announced it has submitted proposed amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act to the Attorney General’s Office, aiming to abolish the current choice that allows “Category A” resorts to convert foreign currency at a flat rate of USD 500 per tourist. 

Under the existing law, which took effect in January last year, these upscale properties could either exchange USD 500 for each guest or remit 20 percent of their total monthly revenue to the banking system. 

The MMA said the dual‑track system creates inequity—high‑end resorts benefit from the per‑head rate while smaller establishments must surrender a larger share of earnings—and results in a significant loss of potential foreign‑exchange inflow.

The authority estimates that standardising the requirement to 20 percent of monthly revenue for all resorts would channel an additional USD 100 million annually through domestic banks. The amendment also leaves Category B guesthouses untouched, raises the revenue threshold for Category C non‑tourism dollar‑earners from USD 15 million to USD 25 million, and grants the MMA discretion to lower the mandatory exchange ratio to 7 percent for qualifying Category C establishments. 

To improve oversight, the MMA will require Point‑of‑Sale transactions processed via foreign banks to settle into local accounts and will amend the National Payment System Act accordingly with a national switch to monitor all domestic financial flows is also in the works.

Despite tourism generating USD 5.6 billion last year, the MMA noted that only 66 percent of the country’s 180 resorts have filed compliance reports, with roughly 70 percent of those actually exchanging dollars—leaving about 60 resorts non‑compliant. 

Guesthouse participation is even lower, with only 40 percent of the 940 properties converting foreign currency through banks. Three resorts have already been fined for non‑compliance. The MMA attributed a slight year‑on‑year dip in foreign‑exchange conversions (from USD 400 million to USD 390 million) to reduced tourism revenue stemming from the Middle‑East conflict, and pledged further measures to bring more tourism‑related earnings into the formal banking sector.

The amendments are expected to be laid before Parliament soon, after which the MMA will enforce the uniform 20 percent revenue‑based exchange rule across all resorts while continuing outreach efforts to improve compliance among guesthouses and smaller tourism operators.