Entity dossier · Institution
Central bank of the Maldives
mma.gov.mv (opens in a new window)
This page records what the MMA is required to do, how it holds the rufiyaa inside its band, what it has published about its reserves, and the foreign currency law it now administers. Figures are the MMA's own unless another source is named. Where two MMA measures of the same thing differ, both are shown.
Reviewed · Every claim carries an evidence grade and numbered sources Built from the MMA's Annual Report 2024, the consolidated Foreign Currency Act, the MMA statistics database and the President's Office. Board seats vacant at the end of 2024 are left unnamed; the Majlis vote on the Governor's appointment is withheld as sources conflict.
01Snapshot
The central bank, its mandate and the band it defends.
The Maldives Monetary Authority is the central bank of the Maldives, established on 1 July 1981 under Law No. 6/81. It issues the rufiyaa, licenses and supervises banks and other financial institutions, manages the country's foreign reserves, and holds the rufiyaa within a band against the US dollar. Its Governor is Ahmed Munawar, appointed on 31 July 2024.
What it is
The central bank of the Maldives, established on 1 July 1981 under Law No. 6/81 (Maldives Monetary Authority Act 1981).
Governor
Ahmed Munawar, appointed on 31 July 2024. He succeeded Ali Hashim, who held the office from 8 September 2019 until his removal on 22 July 2024.
As of 29 Oct 2026
Exchange rate regime
MVR 10.28–15.42 band
An exchange rate-based monetary policy framework. The MMA holds the rufiyaa against the US dollar within a band of MVR 10.28 to MVR 15.42, through intervention in the domestic foreign exchange market and management of rufiyaa liquidity.
Reserves
US$ 547 mgross, Sept 2026
Two MMA figures for the end of September 2026 differ. The statistics the MMA released to the press put gross official reserves at US$547 million and usable reserves at US$169.8 million. The MMA's own statistics database gives US$532.55 million for the series it labels 'foreign currency reserves'. Neither release explains the difference between the two measures.
As of 30 Sept 2026
Primary objective
Price stability, conducive to the sustainable growth of the economy. Financial stability comes second, without prejudice to price stability; support for the government's macroeconomic objectives comes third.
Board
7seats, 3 vacant (2024)
Seven members, executive and non-executive, including the Governor and the Deputy Governor. At 31 December 2024 four seats were filled and three were vacant.
As of 31 Dec 2024
Policy instruments
Minimum Reserve Requirement, Open Market Operations, foreign exchange swaps, and standing facilities: an Overnight Deposit Facility at 1.5% a year and an Overnight Lombard Facility at 10% a year. Changes are proposed by the Monetary Policy Committee and decided by the Board.
Headquarters
Malé, Republic of Maldives.
Also known as MMA · Maldives Monetary Authority
02The mandate
The MMA's objectives are ranked, not parallel. The order decides what gives way when they conflict.
The MMA states its primary objective as to "maintain price stability conducive to the sustainable growth of the economy".
"Without prejudice to maintaining price stability, maintain financial stability." The qualifier is the MMA's own: where the two pull apart, price stability governs.
"Without prejudice to maintaining price stability and financial stability, support the government in achieving macroeconomic stability and economic growth."
Under Law No. 6/81 the Governor is the executive head, responsible for implementing the Board's decisions and for day-to-day management. The Board of Directors is the policymaking body: it defines and adopts monetary policy and decides on interest rates, currency supply and the administration of the institution.
The MMA Act of 1981 has been amended several times. This page cites the Act as described in the MMA's own reporting; the consolidated text was not reviewed here.
03The exchange rate
The rufiyaa is not floating. The MMA sells dollars to keep it inside a band, and its own annual report says the current rate of selling cannot be sustained.
The MMA's monetary policy framework is built on holding the exchange rate with the US dollar within a band of MVR 10.28 and MVR 15.42. It does this through intervention in the foreign exchange market and by managing surplus rufiyaa liquidity in the banking system.
Contemporaneous reporting in April 2011 described the government implementing "a managed float of the rufiya within a 20 percent band of the pegged rate of Rf12.85". A 20 per cent band either side of MVR 12.85 gives the limits in force today. The report does not give the date of the change, and no primary document setting the band was reviewed for this page.
The Annual Report 2024 states that individuals, businesses and state-owned enterprises are "constrained to resort to the informal market at elevated premiums above the official exchange rate", and that while the MMA has increased intervention to defend the peg, "this has caused significant drains on reserves and is unsustainable in the medium-to-long term".
That is the central bank's own assessment, in its own published words, not an outside criticism.
US dollar sales by the MMA reached US$997.7 million in 2024, up 0.2% on the year. State-owned enterprises took 65.3% of that, or US$651.8 million, mainly for fuel, food staples, medicine and medical equipment.
The instruments, as at the end of 2024
The requirement on foreign currency deposits was cut from 10% to 7.5% to relieve a shortage of foreign currency liquidity in the banking system. The MMA said it would review the rate against macroeconomic conditions.
04Foreign currency
Since 1 January 2025 the MMA administers a statute requiring tourism and large non-tourism earners to deposit foreign currency in a Maldivian bank and convert part of it to rufiyaa.
Regulation No. 2024/R-91 on Foreign Currency took effect on 1 October 2024, superseding the Monetary Regulation that had been in force since 1 March 1987. The regulation was itself repealed when Law No. 32/2024, the Foreign Currency Act, came into force on 1 January 2025. A First Amendment, Law No. 13/2026, took effect on 1 September 2026.
Its stated objectives are to facilitate the availability of foreign currency in the Maldives, to prescribe which transactions may be carried out in foreign currency, to set rules on depositing foreign currency income in a bank account, and to set rules on converting part of that income to rufiyaa. The First Amendment added rules on buying and selling foreign currency.
The Act gives the Authority power to investigate persons who do not comply, to fine them, to temporarily suspend the permits of those who fail to pay a fine, and to penalise selling or advertising foreign currency outside the rate or band it determines. It may also permit a lesser conversion, or a longer deadline, where a business satisfies the Authority that converting the full amount would leave it unable to meet foreign currency obligations such as tax, foreign debt or a court-ordered payment.
Who must convert, and how much
Who
Tourist resorts, integrated tourist resorts, private islands, resort hotels and similar establishments registered under the Maldives Tourism Act (Law No. 2/99).
Required conversion
40% of gross foreign currency sales in a calendar month, converted to rufiyaa at a bank.
Who
Tourist vessels, tourist hotels and tourist guesthouses registered under the Maldives Tourism Act. Vessels registered and operated in a foreign country are exempt.
Required conversion
The establishment chooses: US$25 for each tourist arrival in the month, or 20% of gross foreign currency sales.
Who
Persons other than those above and other than financial institutions, who earned at least the equivalent of US$25 million in foreign currency in the previous calendar year for goods and services. The threshold was set by the First Amendment, in force from 1 September 2026.
Required conversion
40% of gross foreign currency sales in a calendar month.
Who
Where a person caught by the non-tourism threshold is 100% Maldivian-owned.
Required conversion
7% of gross foreign currency sales in a calendar month.
Monthly conversions must be completed before the 28th day of the following month. Tourists who stay under 24 hours, those under 12, guests staying free of charge and guests visiting under special government privileges are excluded when counting arrivals for the per-tourist option.
05Reserves
For September 2026 the MMA's press statistics and its own database give different figures for reserves. Both are recorded here.
End of September 2026, as published by the MMA
MMA monthly statistics · Gross official reserves
MMA statistics database · Foreign currency reserves (series 3383)
MMA monthly statistics · Usable reserves
Gross official reserves and usable reserves are different measures and should not be compared with each other. The two gross figures, however, are both the MMA's own and differ by about US$14 million; neither release explains why.
Gross official reserves fell by US$96.9 million, or 14.9%, from US$643.9 million at the end of August. Usable reserves fell by US$30.8 million from US$200.6 million. The MMA attributed the fall mainly to foreign currency sales exceeding receipts: sales rose 46.9% on the month, largely because it sold dollars to the government for the final US$50 million repayment on a 2019 Treasury bill facility from the State Bank of India, and increased sales to commercial banks.
Within the Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Countries, 2024-2027, the MMA signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Reserve Bank of India on 7 October 2024. During 2024 the MMA drew US$400 million under the framework's US dollar and euro swap window.
After its 2026 Article IV mission, IMF staff said "official bilateral support and increased international reserves mitigated near-term external pressures" and that recent debt repayments had alleviated immediate solvency concerns, while "the risk of overall and external debt distress remains high". Staff projected real GDP growth of about 1 per cent in 2026.
06Leadership & people
Key people
Former office holders
Governor
07Timeline
Scroll sideways, or jump to a year.
1 July 1981
Law No. 6/81, the Maldives Monetary Authority Act 1981, creates the central bank of the Maldives.
1 March 1987
The regulation that governed foreign currency dealings until 2024.
April 2011
Reporting at the time described the government implementing a managed float within a 20 per cent band of the pegged rate of MVR 12.85, which gives the MVR 10.28 to 15.42 limits in force today. The exact date of the change is not given in the source reviewed.
8 September 2019
22 July 2024
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu removed Ali Hashim as Governor under section 6(3) of Law No. 6/81, following the recommendation of the People's Majlis, and proposed Ahmed Munawar as his successor.
31 July 2024
1 October 2024
Regulation No. 2024/R-91 requires local transactions to be conducted in rufiyaa, with exemptions, and requires businesses liable for Tourism Goods and Services Tax to declare and deposit their sales with a domestic bank.
7 October 2024
A bilateral agreement under the Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Countries, 2024-2027.
24 October 2024
Down from 10%, to relieve a shortage of foreign currency liquidity in the banking system. The rufiyaa requirement stayed at 10%.
1 January 2025
Law No. 32/2024 repeals the 2024 regulation and extends deposit and conversion requirements to large non-tourism businesses.
14 June 2026
A mission led by Piyaporn Sodsriwiboon visited Malé from 4 to 14 June 2026.
1 September 2026
Law No. 13/2026 sets the US$25 million threshold for non-tourism earners, adds a 7% rate for wholly Maldivian-owned businesses in that group, and adds rules on buying and selling foreign currency.
30 September 2026
Gross official reserves fell 14.9% on the month to US$547 million; usable reserves fell to US$169.8 million.
08Fact checks & open questions
The rufiyaa floats freely against the dollar.
It does not. The MMA operates an exchange rate-based framework and holds the rufiyaa within a band of MVR 10.28 to MVR 15.42, intervening in the market to do so.
The official rate is the rate everyone can get dollars at.
The MMA's own Annual Report 2024 records that individuals, businesses and state-owned enterprises are constrained to use the informal market at premiums above the official rate, and describes the mismatch between demand for foreign exchange and what the banking system supplies.
The Foreign Currency Act applies only to resorts.
Since the First Amendment took effect on 1 September 2026 it also applies to non-tourism businesses, other than financial institutions, that earned at least the equivalent of US$25 million in foreign currency in the previous calendar year.
Open questions as of 29 October 2026
09Sources
Numbers match the citations throughout the page.
Last reviewed 29 October 2026. Built from the MMA's Annual Report 2024, the consolidated Foreign Currency Act, the MMA statistics database and the President's Office. Board seats vacant at the end of 2024 are left unnamed; the Majlis vote on the Governor's appointment is withheld as sources conflict.
Good Morning Maldives, "Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)", independent record (graded), retrieved 29 October 2026, www.goodmorningmaldives.com/entities/maldives-monetary-authority
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Source 2
Foreign Currency Act, Law No. 32/2024 (unofficial English translation, consolidated with the First Amendment)
Maldives Monetary Authority · 14 December 2024
Source 3
President removes Ali Hashim as Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority and proposes Ahmed Munawar
The President's Office · 22 July 2024
Source 4
Foreign currency reserves (series 3383)
Maldives Monetary Authority statistics database
Source 5
IMF Staff Completes 2026 Article IV Mission to the Maldives
International Monetary Fund · 17 June 2026
Source 6
Maldives reserves fall 14.9% to $547 million in September
Atoll Times · 14 October 2026