The move is intended to help companies come back stronger in 2021 as restrictions loosen, while still offering a selection of new products that facilitate Covid-safe payments.

Pomelo Pay has provided a Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) platform for BML since October 2019, allowing the bank to efficiently offer its business customers innovative payments solutions. As a result of this partnership, businesses who bank with BML have been able to access Pomelo Pay’s full suite of contactless payment and analytics tools. This includes acquiring international schemes and wallets, as well as domestic payment methods.

The partnership enables BML to unlock new revenue streams and generate cost-savings by using Pomelo Pay’s fast, secure, and scalable API. This allows for a seamless integration helping to convert manual work into fully automated processes and creating a global digital ecosystem with great customer experience for their end users. New features in the expanded offering will permit BML business customers to increase revenues from international transactions with multi-currency payments; upgrade their compliance systems and processes with the new compliance module; draw actionable insights from enhanced data analytics; take pre-authorization payments by sending payment requests; bolster their virtual presence with an online shop feature; and process contactless payments with mobile phones using improved NFC technology.

Vincent Choi, CEO and Co-Founder of Pomelo Pay, said: “Due to its incredibly prosperous hospitality and tourism sectors, the Maldives has been hit particularly hard by Covid-19 which has limited occasions for travel and social interaction. Through our partnership with the Bank of Maldives, we are hoping to breathe fresh life into these crucial industries.

“By expanding our product offering, the 99% of the country’s merchant base which our services cover will be able to access a suite of new features which help make the process of taking payments easier. From globally recognised brands such as Radisson Blu and Conrad Hotels and Resorts through to smaller, independent owned business, we help keep our partners ahead of the competition by constantly innovating.”

Tim Sawyer, CEO and Managing Director of Bank of Maldives, said: “In the burgeoning e-commerce industry, our customers’ payment experience needs to be simple, secure and cost-efficient. Our partnership with Pomelo Pay has enabled to us to offer businesses with solutions for seamless payment integration to fuel their growth, and comes at a critical time as the Maldives is well on its way to recovery post-Covid.”

In November, Pomelo Pay secured a £2.1million investment in a seed funding round led by Force Over Mass. The investment will be used to expand Pomelo Pay’s rapidly growing team and build on its international reach - which includes offices in London and Singapore - with an expanded presence in countries across Europe and Asia. The business was also recently selected to join Tech Nation’s Fintech 3.0, a growth programme for the best and brightest UK fintechs.