New Delhi, July 31 — 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, according to a statement issued by the Finance Ministry on Friday.

The service, which became operational 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 and credited to recipients in Indian Rupees 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 corridor has opened 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 transfers directly to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India through their mobile banking applications and the Favara payment rail.

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

The implementation reflects close collaboration between the Maldives Monetary Authority, the Reserve Bank of India, NPCI International Payments Limited, participating financial institutions and other stakeholders in both countries.

The agreement for the Favara-UPI integration was signed between NPCI International Payments Limited and the Maldives Monetary Authority in July 2025. This was followed by an accelerated 10-day period of testing, certification, onboarding and live validation, after which the corridor achieved full operational readiness.

Subsequent phases of the partnership are expected to introduce additional cross-border payment use cases, including QR-based merchant payments and other digital services, further strengthening economic and financial ties between the two countries.

UPI is already accepted in nine countries—Cambodia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka—allowing Indian travellers to make seamless payments abroad. The new Maldives corridor extends real-time connectivity in the opposite direction, enabling residents of the island nation to send funds directly to UPI accounts in India.