11/22/22, 4:29 PM Junta weaponises digital banking transition to starve resistance funding | Frontier Myanmar “I’m extremely angry and depressed at the same time,” she said, noting that her business had operated within the shifting rules laid down by the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar. Ma Thinzar is one of many people affected by intrusive new rules from the CBM that make it easier for the junta to monitor how citizens’ cash is spent. The rules apply to mobile wallets, whose use has shot up since the military put withdrawal limits on ATMs shortly after the coup, severely reducing the availability of cash. While this “digital transformation” may be beneficial in normal circumstances, it has been weaponised by the regime in the absence of a functioning legal framework to protect users. At the start of 2021, Yoma Bank’s Wave Money had over 65,000 agents across Myanmar. (Frontier) Four cuts, digitised The new rules were contained in an August 15 directive sent to mobile money providers and seen by Frontier. In it, the CBM said all users of mobile banking applications had to “upgrade” their accounts or they would be frozen. To upgrade, an account holder must supply providers with a photograph and video of their face, a copy of their national identity card, and their mobile phone and SIM card numbers. Point 7 of the directive specifies that “CCTV must be installed in all agents’ shops to record both senders and beneficiaries [of mobile money transactions]”. Over the following month, there were hundreds of anecdotal accounts of mobile money wallets being frozen, predominantly those held by Myanmar’s largest bank, KBZ. Inside sources told Frontier that no effort had been made by the CBM or junta to claim the balance of frozen accounts, and that funds remain in mobile money operators’ trust accounts. Operators have told customers they can reclaim funds, but it is unclear if any have managed to do so The CBM directive is part of raft of measures that allow the junta to more accurately locate and identity citizens. These include a threat to deactivate SIM cards that are not registered to a Citizen Scrutiny (or “National Registration”) Card, strict night-time inspections of homes to check for unregistered guests, and a demand that citizens request permission from local administrators to travel before moving between regions. There have also been credible reports that the regime is attempting to establish “smart cities” by importing face recognition CCTV technology from China. In theory, by firmly linking users’ faces, names and personal details to accounts that previously only required a telephone number to open, the CBM’s August directive allows providers to tie each digital https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/junta-weaponises-digital-banking-transition-to-starve-resistance-funding/ 2/9