Maldives pitches full proposal to secure PayPal access

The government pitched its full proposal to PayPal two days back to secure access to the financial technology company’s services in the Maldives, says Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed.

Saeed made the announcement in an appearance on the Public Service Media (PSM)’s ‘Raajje Miadhu’ program on Saturday evening.

Saeed said the government expects to reach an agreement with PayPal “very soon.” But he was unable to say when the service will become available in the Maldives.

“I, personally, cannot give a specific date on which PayPal will become available in the Maldives. But, God willing, we will secure PayPal access in Maldives,” he said.

Last month, Saeed had a virtual meeting with Suzan Kereere, PayPal’s President for Global Marketing, during which they discussed ways to help Maldives’ e-commerce businesses to overcome difficulties in receiving payments through PayPal.

Highlighting on the meeting, Saeed said the United States has a crucial role in securing PayPal access in the Maldives.

He said that US government officials played a key role in facilitating a meeting with top officials from PayPal during his recent visit to Washington DC. He said that the meeting had been an important one, which helped PayPal get a deeper understanding of the Maldivian market.

“It clarified a lot of things for them, with regard to where Maldives’ is at now and how the country’s digital space has developed and so on,” he said.

Access to international online payments systems including PayPal was one of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s electoral pledges.

PayPal is an American multinational financial technology company that operates an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers. It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders.