that it can be an incentive for Myanmar nationals to hold a bank account.
(B) Delay in systemization of FIs
Concerning the status of introduction of the CBS in FIs, it is known that there are
significant differences between major banks, foreign banks, state-owned, semiprivate, municipal, small, and medium-sized banks. When looking to sophisticate
the payment systems throughout Myanmar, it is not sufficient to merely strengthen
the function of CBM-NET, which is a node, but FIs as nodes also need to proceed
with systemization properly. However, only about half of the domestic banks were
able to introduce CBSs that connect the head office and branch offices online, in
particular, most of the state-owned banks (state-owned, semi-private, municipal
banks) cannot make the system online. For example, Yadanarbon Bank managed by
Mandalay City uses an old-fashioned system built by its employees, but customers
cannot deposit or withdraw money at other branches because the head office and
branches are not connected online, and account information is maintained by each
office separately. Since the above-mentioned state-owned banks and small and
medium-sized banks do not have sufficient investment capacity, it is still uncertain
when to introduce an online CBS.
Another trend is the penetration of Mobile Payment Service Provider (MPSP). MPSP
indicates a mobile payment service provider that follows in the wake of so-called
FinTech, and Wave Money, which is a joint venture with Telenor, a mobile phone
company, is a typical example in Myanmar. In Myanmar, where the penetration rate
of smartphones is high, individuals can transfer money between individuals through
Wave Money without having a bank account if you have a smartphone and a
dedicated application. Personal accounts are associated with telephone numbers in
the form of mobile accounts, and transfer is made by designating the telephone
number of the transferee on the dedicated application. The mobile account balance
can be used for the top-up of mobile phones and the payment of some utilities. You
can also deposit or withdraw from the account via agents (such as mom and pop
store). This movement seems to be beneficial as part of the financial inclusion in
Myanmar where the bank account penetration has not progressed. Although the
CBM regulates the upper limits of the transfer amount and the balance, (Mobile
Financial Services Regulation), more convenient, innovative financial services can
partially erode the banking business. For FIs that cannot keep up with these
innovations, especially for the above-mentioned state-owned banks and small and
5