Myanmar and Fintech: Under Pressure in a Fragmented Economy
Myanmar’s fintech story is not a straightforward story of growth. It is more complex but can play a role in its economic development.
In many Asian markets, digital finance is discussed through the lens of rising smartphone adoption, venture capital, e-commerce and financial inclusion. Myanmar has all of those ingredients to some extent, but they exist within one of the most difficult operating environments in the region.
In 2024 I highlighted Myanmar’s fintech sector and researched its progress despite political unrest and economic challenges. The article pointed to Wave Money’s dominant role in mobile financial services, the rise of KBZPay, CB Pay, AYA Pay and OnePay, and the importance of mobile money in bringing financial services to underserved populations. It also noted how Myanmar’s financial inclusion journey had been supported by earlier initiatives such as the Financial Inclusion Roadmap, mobile financial services regulation in 2016 and the launch of CBM-NET2 in 2020.
That earlier assessment remains relevant. However, by this year, Myanmar’s fintech landscape must be viewed through an even more complex lens. Since the military takeover in 2021, Myanmar’s economy has been shaped by conflict, sanctions, currency instability, power shortages and declining investor confidence. These pressures have affected almost every sector, including banking, payments and digital financial services. The World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor has repeatedly highlighted weak domestic demand, labour shortages, power outages and conflict as major constraints on economic recovery. Last March’s earthquake worsened Myanmar’s economic decline, with the World Bank projecting a 2.5 per cent contraction in the 2025/26 fiscal year after the disaster caused an estimated $11billion in damages.
This makes Myanmar different from many fintech markets. The central question is not simply how fintech can scale. It is whether digital finance can continue functioning in an economy where trust, infrastructure and stability have all been deeply strained.
Myanmar remains a lower-income economy with significant development needs. World Bank data shows gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at around $1,359 in 2024. Key sectors include agriculture, garments, natural gas, mining, trade, manufacturing, tourism and informal services. Yangon remains the country’s main commercial and financial centre, while Naypyidaw serves as the administrative capital. Major banks include KBZ Bank, CB Bank, AYA Bank and Yoma Bank.
Yet the formal banking system has faced immense pressure. Following the 2021 political crisis, banks experienced liquidity constraints, disruptions to branch operations and declining public confidence. Cash shortages, withdrawal restrictions and uncertainty pushed many individuals and businesses to rely more heavily on digital wallets, informal money transfers and alternative payment channels. In this context, fintech became both more necessary and more fragile.
The pre-crisis period had offered significant promise. Myanmar’s financial system was gradually opening after years of isolation. Mobile phone penetration had increased rapidly after telecom liberalisation, while mobile money and digital wallets began reaching people who had historically been excluded from formal banking. The World Bank’s Global Findex database remains the leading source for measuring account ownership, mobile money usage and digital payments globally, and Myanmar’s pre-2021 financial inclusion trajectory was closely linked to the rise of mobile financial services.
Mobile money became one of the country’s most visible fintech success stories.
Wave Money, launched as a joint venture involving Telenor and Yoma Group, became a major mobile financial services provider. As referenced in the 2024 The Fintech Times article, Wave Money became the first mobile financial services provider in Myanmar following the Central Bank of Myanmar’s 2016 MFS regulations, helping expand services at a time when mobile connectivity was rising rapidly. GSMA also noted that Wave Money had around 80 per cent of Myanmar’s mobile financial services market and served tens of millions of users through a large agent network. Today, Wave Money describes itself as Myanmar’s leading digital payment and mobile financial services provider, offering over-the-counter transfers and digital wallet services nationwide.
KBZPay has also become central to the country’s digital payments ecosystem. Operated by KBZ Bank, the wallet allows users to transfer money, pay bills, shop, top up phones and access financial services through mobile devices. Its growth reflects how commercial banks in Myanmar have increasingly used mobile wallets to reach customers beyond traditional branch networks.
Other players such as CB Pay by CB Bank, AYA Pay and OnePay have also contributed to the country’s digital wallet and mobile payment landscape. Together, these platforms form the practical backbone of Myanmar’s fintech ecosystem.
What makes this ecosystem notable is that it developed in a country where formal financial inclusion remained limited. For many users, a mobile wallet was not merely a convenience. It was their first meaningful interaction with digital finance. It allowed people to send money, pay bills, receive funds and transact without needing a conventional bank branch. In rural areas, agent networks became especially important because they provided cash-in and cash-out services for people without easy access to banks.
However, Myanmar’s digital finance sector is now operating in a far more constrained environment.
Electricity shortages affect both merchants and consumers. Internet restrictions and network disruptions can undermine digital payment reliability. Currency controls and inflation complicate business operations. Sanctions and international de-risking limit access to global payment networks and foreign investment. The European Union (EU) extended sanctions against Myanmar until at least May 2027 in response to ongoing human rights violations following the 2021 coup.
These pressures matter because fintech depends on confidence. Users must believe that their money is safe, that transactions will settle, that agents have liquidity and that platforms will remain accessible. When uncertainty rises, digital finance can either become more valuable or more vulnerable.
The Central Bank of Myanmar has continued promoting digital payments despite these challenges. In June 2024, the central bank updated limits for digital payments and transactions as part of broader efforts to support non-cash payments and digital economy activity. A related central bank letter emphasised secure, stable, efficient and competitive payment systems, interconnection of payment systems and greater use of payment services by the public.
The policy direction is clear: Myanmar wants greater use of digital payments. The difficulty lies in implementation. A digital payments strategy cannot succeed if connectivity is unreliable, consumers lack trust, merchants face volatile costs and financial institutions operate under severe economic pressure. This is why Myanmar’s fintech sector must be understood through the wider political and economic environment rather than through technology alone.
Still, the underlying need for digital finance remains substantial. Myanmar has a large population, significant rural communities, a sizeable informal economy and many small businesses that could benefit from better access to payments, savings, credit and insurance. If conditions stabilise over time, the country could again become one of Southeast Asia’s more important financial inclusion markets.
Remittances are another important area. Millions of Myanmar nationals work abroad, particularly in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and other regional economies. Efficient, affordable and regulated remittance channels are therefore critical for households. Digital financial services could help lower costs and improve access, although cross-border payments remain complicated by sanctions, compliance concerns and informal channels.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) also represent a major opportunity. Small merchants need digital payment acceptance, working capital, inventory finance and basic financial management tools. Mobile wallet transaction histories could, in theory, support alternative credit scoring and merchant lending. However, these models require stable data, strong consumer protections and regulated financial partnerships.
There is also a humanitarian dimension. Conflict and displacement have increased the need for fast and secure payment delivery. Digital transfers can support aid distribution, wages, emergency assistance and community resilience, but they must be implemented carefully to avoid exclusion, surveillance risks or unequal access.
Myanmar’s fintech ecosystem therefore faces a difficult contradiction. The need for digital finance is high, but the conditions required for safe and scalable fintech remain weak.
This is the opposite of more mature fintech ecosystems where capital, regulation and infrastructure are already in place. In Myanmar, fintech has to navigate fragility while continuing to provide basic financial utility to millions of users.
Looking ahead, several factors will determine the sector’s future. The first is infrastructure. Reliable electricity, mobile connectivity and internet access are essential for digital payments to function consistently.
The second is trust. Consumers need confidence in wallets, banks, agents and regulators. The third is interoperability. Myanmar’s digital wallet landscape could become more powerful if platforms, banks and merchants are able to transact more seamlessly with one another. The fourth is financial integrity. In a sanctions-sensitive environment, anti-money laundering controls, know-your-customer processes and responsible supervision will remain critical.
Finally, inclusion must remain central. Digital finance should support rural users, women, informal workers, migrants and small businesses rather than serve only urban customers.
Ultimately, Myanmar’s fintech story is not one of easy optimism. Myanmar has already shown that fintech could help expand inclusion through mobile money, agent networks and digital wallets. The question now is whether that progress can survive and eventually deepen in an environment defined by instability, sanctions and economic fragmentation.
Fintech in Myanmar is not about becoming Southeast Asia’s next digital finance hub. It is about whether technology can help preserve access, reduce financial friction and support economic participation in one of the region’s most complex markets. In that sense, Myanmar’s fintech future will depend not only on innovation, but on stability, trust and the rebuilding of confidence in the financial system itself.
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