The company, a tie-up between a telco operator and a private bank, has built a network of 4,000 mum-and-pop shops around the country where clients can deposit and withdraw cash by phone.
Referred to as “human ATMS”, these stores are far more accessible and numerous than bank branches. Wave constantly monitors their liquidity and dispatches agents to replenish shops running low on cash.
“The advantage is it now takes very little time to transfer money.
Just four years ago only 10 per cent of the population had a mobile phone, now it is 60 per cent, with most using smartphones.
During its economic heyday under British colonial rule, Myanmar was home to the highest concentration of foreign-owned banks in Southeast Asia.Changing this behaviour is a crucial step on the path out of poverty.Mobile money is Myanmar’s best bet at swiftly linking its poor to safer, more regulated financial services