Favara-UPI cross-border payment corridor goes live between Maldives, India
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have announced the successful go-live of the integration between the Maldives’ Instant Payment System 'Favara'
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have announced the successful go-live of the integration between the Maldives’ Instant Payment System 'Favara', and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This marks a transformative milestone in cross-border digital financial connectivity and bilateral economic cooperation between the Maldives and India, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday (July 31, 2026). Following the launch of the service on Thursday (July 30), individuals from the Maldives can now transfer funds in real time to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India through their mobile banking applications.
The service has commenced with the participation of two local banks — Bank of Maldives Plc and Maldives Islamic Bank Plc, it said, adding, 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. The implementation reflects close collaboration between the MMA, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), NIPL, participating financial institutions, and other stakeholders in both countries.
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, it said. UPI is accepted in the 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. NPCI, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks' Association, is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India (IBA).
It runs the UPI platform used for real-time payments between peers and at merchants' end while making purchases.
The BriefWire