Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 20: Thousands of Keralites working in the Maldives are reeling under severe financial stress after the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) slashed the monthly limit on dollar remittances to just USD 150 (approx. Rs 13,000).

The drastic cut — down from USD 700 earlier and later USD 500 — has left around 7,000 Malayali expatriates struggling to support families and repay loans back home in India. Many say the amount is far too little to sustain basic responsibilities.

“This is going to be a huge crisis for people like me,” said a Kerala native working in the island nation. “We have families to feed and debts to clear. This new cap leaves us helpless.”

The worst-affected are healthcare professionals, teachers, and those in the tourism industry, who earn in Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) and rely on regular dollar conversions for remittances.

According to economist Mary George, the restrictions are a symptom of deeper economic troubles in the Maldives. “They’re facing a crisis reminiscent of India’s financial crunch in 1990. But unlike India, the Maldives lacks gold reserves or comparable assets to stabilise the situation,” she said.

As uncertainty grows, the Malayali diaspora in the Maldives fears prolonged financial instability unless the remittance cap is eased soon.