Creating a unique mobile financial services framework for Myanmar: A Review

TL;DR

This paper reviews Myanmar's mobile financial services sector, compares government strategies in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, and offers preliminary recommendations to foster growth amid low banking access.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of government roles in developing MFS in Southeast Asia and proposes tailored strategies for Myanmar's unique context.

Findings

High mobile penetration but low banking access in Myanmar

Successful government policies in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand

Preliminary recommendations for Myanmar's MFS development

Abstract

Myanmar is languishing at the bottom of key international indexes. United Nations considers the country as a structurally weak and vulnerable economy. Yet, from 2011 when Myanmar ended decades of military rule and isolationism and transited towards democracy, its breakneck development has led to many considering the country to be one of the final frontiers for growth in the Asia region. One such industry that has benefitted from the opening of the country is telecommunications. The mobile penetration rate at 4.8% in 2011 has increased significantly to 90% in 2016. Despite renewed optimism and development in the economy, one statistic remains disappointing. According to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB), only 23% of the adult population have access to a bank account. This highlights a need to reach out and increase access to financial resources to a population that is severely unbanked and underbanked. This creates an interesting proposition of allowing both the telecommunications and financial sector to form the mobile financial services (MFS) sector and meet the need of improving access to financial resources for the population. This report explores the government role in supporting, growing and sustaining the MFS sector and conducts a comparative research into Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to understand the steps taken by these governments to develop their own Financial Technology (FinTech), specifically MFS, industry. Finally, the report will present preliminary recommendations that the Myanmar government could consider implementing to drive growth in its MFS sector.