Myanmar welcomes foreign credit cards

The Ministry of Finance and Revenue of Myanmar announced permission was granted for the introduction of VISA, MasterCard, China Union Pay (CUP) and Japan Credit Bureau (JCB) into the country for convenience of domestic payment, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

The Central Bank, Internal Revenue Department, the Posts and Telecommunications department and Myanmar Information Technology (MIT) Co. will work on the coordination for technologies and communication services required for the introduction of international card services at each member bank of Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) and its ATMs. The switch for international payment gateway reported to be placed at MPU office in the Central Bank’s Yangon branch and the card usage will be supervised by the Central Bank.

Co-Operative Bank Limited is the pioneer bank to introduce international credit card in the country after it signed a deal with MasterCard last month.

by Terry Brown