Closing the payment gap: Bank of Maldives’ Swipe and the guest experience

A couple on an island excursion find a handicraft they want to take home. In the scenario Ahmed Hizaam Khaleel put to general managers, the sale falls through for a simple reason: the craftsperson accepts only cash, while the visitors have a credit card and a phone.

The guests leave without buying. For Khaleel, the missed opportunity extends beyond the value of the sale.

“What we lose is a part of Maldives that would have been taken with them,” he said.

The example framed the Bank of Maldives Data Analysis Officer’s presentation at the Hotelier Maldives General Managers (GM) Forum 2026. Introducing Swipe, the bank’s multi-currency digital wallet, Khaleel asked hospitality leaders to consider how the ability to pay influences the experiences guests can enjoy, both within a resort and beyond it.

He introduced himself as a member of Generation Z, working outside the hospitality industry but involved in a small part of the guest journey: accepting payments. Having worked on Swipe’s development, he connected the product’s design to the interruptions that can arise when a customer is ready to make a purchase.

His argument began with the digital services already familiar to hospitality businesses. Mobile check-in, digital concierge services, contactless access, in-app ordering and instant confirmations all aim to make a stay easier to navigate. He questioned whether payments were receiving the same attention.

“Why are payments not a seamless part of this experience?” he asked.

The objective he outlined was for payment to fit naturally into receiving a service, with less effort required from the guest. That could mean paying for a restaurant visit, a spa treatment or an excursion through the same wallet.

Swipe brings Maldivian rufiyaa and US dollar wallets into one application, with QR payments and the ability to add funds through BML accounts or supported debit, credit and prepaid cards. Card funding also allows people without an existing BML account to use the service, an important part of the proposition Khaleel presented to an industry serving international visitors.

He identified three priorities behind the wallet’s development: simplicity, transparency and accessibility. Registration needed to be straightforward, users needed to see applicable fees before paying, and access needed to extend beyond the bank’s existing account holders.

“We wanted a wallet that was simple, that was transparent, and most importantly, that was accessible,” he said.

Khaleel described registration through an existing BML relationship or through identity verification for new customers. The bank’s published terms set out verification through BML internet banking for existing customers; those without a BML account provide personal information and identification documents and complete facial verification. The aim of easier access therefore sits alongside a process for confirming who is using the service.

On the merchant side, his central point concerned when money becomes available. He said payments made through Swipe are credited directly to the merchant’s wallet in real time. BML’s merchant information confirms that funds are credited without waiting for an end-of-day settlement and can then be withdrawn to a business account, with a 1% commission on merchant payments.

Khaleel said that commission applied regardless of the card used to fund the customer’s wallet. He presented the combination of a consistent merchant rate and real-time wallet settlement as a way to help businesses manage payment costs and cash flow.

For resort teams, he illustrated the model through a guest moving between services: leaving the spa, visiting a restaurant and booking an excursion. Each payment could be made through Swipe and received in the merchant wallet, from which the finance team could arrange withdrawals.

The guest’s experience of paying and the business’s experience of receiving the money were therefore linked in his presentation. The proposed benefit lay in making the transaction easier for the customer while giving the operator earlier access to the payment within its wallet.

He also described sub-wallet creation and a consolidated view through a merchant portal, giving businesses a way to oversee payments within the service. Alongside these functions, he referred to security and anti-money-laundering detection features.

The presentation extended to receiving money from overseas. Khaleel explained that Swipe’s international account feature provides overseas account details through which users can receive funds into their wallets. For the sender, he said, the intention was to make the payment resemble a local transfer in the relevant market.

This formed part of his wider argument for accessibility: the wallet was intended to connect users to payment options beyond an existing domestic banking relationship. Within tourism, that ambition is also reflected in Swipe’s appointment as the official wallet of Visit Maldives, under a partnership announced in March 2026 to support digital payments for visitors.

Khaleel concluded by encouraging general managers to explore how Swipe could fit into their properties’ payment arrangements. For operators, that meant considering where the service could make a purchase easier to complete and the resulting payment easier to manage.

The handicraft example gave that invitation a wider context. A visitor’s willingness to buy does not always become a completed purchase. For Khaleel, making payment easier was part of enabling the exchange itself: a business receives the sale, and a guest takes home something of the place they have visited.

Established in 2016, the Hotelier Maldives GM Forum provides an annual platform for hospitality leaders and businesses serving the tourism sector to exchange perspectives on operational and strategic issues. The 2026 gathering marked the forum’s 10th edition.

A range of companies supporting different areas of the tourism industry partnered with GM Forum 2026.

Dhiraagu was the Premier Sponsor, while STO Energy was the Platinum Sponsor. Bank of Maldives (BML) was the Banking Partner, Dhivehi Insurance was the Insurance Partner, and Male’ Aerated Water Company (MAWC) was the Beverage Partner.

The Silver Sponsors were Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Villa Hakatha, Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) and Atoll Solar.

ALIA, Uniforms Unlimited, The Liquid Concept, Maldives Insider and Blue N White supported the forum as Associate Sponsors.

Souvenir Marine was the Transport Partner, Manta Air was the Aviation Partner, and Storm Events was the Organising Partner.

Through its 2026 programme and partnerships, the GM Forum brought together resort leadership and the businesses supporting hospitality operations to examine how the sector can strengthen resilience while adapting its people, technology and operating models.