Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – The Myanmar National Payment System Management Committee held its first coordination meeting yesterday in Naypyidaw, clarifying the development foundation, core tasks, and future plans for the digital payment sector. Daw Than Than Shwe, Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar and Chairman of the Committee, chaired the meeting and made key deployments.
Daw Than Than Shwe introduced at the meeting that, to support diverse payment needs such as large-value payments, bank card payments, and retail payments, Myanmar has successfully built a digital payment infrastructure system covering the CBM-NET system, MPU, and MyanmarPay (MMQR). To promote the widespread adoption of digital payments and improve payment convenience and efficiency, Myanmar is systematically advancing the review and issuance of payment service provider licenses, and supporting regulations have been promulgated and implemented simultaneously, providing a solid institutional guarantee for the standardized development of the industry.
This meeting focused on two core plans: first, in conjunction with the implementation progress of the e-government system and aligning with the strategic goals of the "Myanmar Digital Economy Roadmap 2030," the drafting of the "National Payment System Strategy (2026-2030)" was initiated; second, pathways for interconnectivity between the national payment system and the ASEAN region were explored to achieve coordinated integration of payment methods within the region.
Daw Than Than Shwe emphasized that the government will promote a full transition to electronic payment methods, focusing on monitoring the integration process of the payment system and e-commerce platforms to ensure the compliant implementation of tax collection and administration; simultaneously, it will continue to expand the coverage of digital payment services, reduce reliance on cash transactions, legally regulate and supervise various transaction activities, and severely crack down on unauthorized and illegal transactions.
Regarding risk control, she further stated that to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing risks, Myanmar will develop an e-KYC VMS system, which, through direct integration with the Ministry of Immigration and Population's electronic identity verification system and the Ministry of Transport and Communications' SIM card registration system, will ensure the authenticity and accuracy of bank account and mobile banking information.
Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as optimizing digital systems, deepening cooperation on digital payment-related work plans, and the specific tasks of various departments in formulating the "National Payment System Strategy (2026-2030)," reaching several cooperative consensuses.
