Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced that customers will no longer be charged the cross-border fee when using their BML debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs outside the Maldives.
The change will take effect tonight, eliminating the additional fee previously imposed on overseas ATM withdrawals.
According to BML, the decision will particularly benefit Maldivian students studying abroad. Students will be able to make full use of the monthly USD 1,200 allowance provided for education and living expenses without having part of the amount deducted through cross-border charges.
The bank said the move is intended to ease the financial burden on students overseas and their families in the Maldives.
A cross-border, or optional issuer, fee is a charge applied by a card-issuing bank when a card is used for transactions in foreign currencies or outside the country. Such transactions are generally routed through international payment networks, including Visa and Mastercard, when the transaction involves a currency other than the card or account’s base currency.
Banks may impose a percentage-based issuer fee to cover the costs associated with processing these international transactions. Such charges are commonly applied by financial institutions around the world.
BML has been imposing a cross-border fee on eligible overseas transactions since the introduction of its card services. With the latest decision, the bank will discontinue the charge specifically for cash withdrawals made through overseas ATMs.
