11/22/22, 4:29 PM Junta weaponises digital banking transition to starve resistance funding | Frontier Myanmar Ma Thae Hsu, a sales executive who runs an online shop from Yangon, had a similar experience when her account was suddenly closed on September 18. “I saw that my Level 2 KBZPay account, which has always been registered to the same SIM and name, had been closed … When I asked the bank for a reason, the agent told me it’s because I had a lot of money! I was just selling and buying things for my [online] shop … there was exactly 176,362 kyat! ($83),” she said. “They later apologised, blamed the CBM and asked me to email it a complaint letter … but still, no reply [as of September 22],” she added. “To be honest, I’ve given up. They didn’t even warn me before they did such a thing. I’d say they [the bank] are stealing from their own customers.” A September 22 article in junta mouthpiece the Global New Light of Myanmar quoted a KBZ statement that similarly invited customers to “report to CDM directly if their accounts are frozen unfairly”. The article also warned that users failing to follow the new procedures would have their accounts “cancelled”. Mobile money providers contacted by Frontier refused to talk on record due to fear of reprisals. However, Ko Myo Aung, an agent for WavePay in Yangon’s Insein township, said the CBM’s measures had made it harder for ordinary people to support their families. “Many Wave users rely on the service to transfer money to their loved ones in other parts of the country,” he told Frontier. “I think the main purpose [of the new measures] is to gather more information on users, to monitor them until they can decide whether they are supporters of resistance groups or not.” “They [mobile money providers] should have sent customers warnings first. Because they didn’t, people are extremely angry. Among the KBZPay and WavePay users whose accounts were closed are those who run online businesses, such as clothing stores and bakeries. If [the companies] want to close the accounts, they should at least allow users to withdraw their hard-earned cash beforehand,” he added. “But now, all of their profits are gone.” More stories https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/junta-weaponises-digital-banking-transition-to-starve-resistance-funding/ 5/9