• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
30 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Myanmar Payment Union Forms Public Company

Kyaw Hsu Mon by Kyaw Hsu Mon
September 3, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Myanmar Payment Union Forms Public Company

Burma’s sole domestic provider of card-based payments

4.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Burma’s sole domestic provider of card-based payments, Myanmar Payment Union, has formed a public company comprised of its 23 member banks, according to the organization’s chief executive officer Zaw Lin Htut.

Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) had planned to form a public company in 2014 and Burma’s Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration gave approval in mid-July, Zaw Lin Htut said.

Mya Than of Myanmar Oriental Bank is chairman of the new company and Than Win Swe of United Amara Bank, owned by the son of recently deceased ruling party lawmaker Aung Thaung, is secretary. Twenty-one directors currently sit on the board.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

July 18, 2025
23
Myanmar’s military commits war crimes

Myanmar’s military commits war crimes

July 18, 2025
14
More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

July 18, 2025
70

“We will not be selling shares right now, but we plan to, [pending] agreement by the board of directors. We are interested because the stock market in Burma will operate soon,” Zaw Lin Htut said.

The first Yangon Stock Exchange, which is being developed by the Central Bank of Myanmar and two Japanese partners, is scheduled to open in the first week of December, following the country’s November general election. More than 50 public companies have initially applied to be listed.

After decades of economic mismanagement under the former military regime, the MPU was founded in 2011, under the Central Bank of Myanmar, to establish the country’s first local ATM card system.

Its membership includes 23 local banks, three of which are state-owned (the Myanmar Economic Bank, the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and the Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank). Two others are military-backed—Inwa Bank and Myawaddy Bank.

Each bank was required to invest 200 million kyat upon entering the organization.

“As part of our business plan, we’ll try to develop the country’s payment sector by expanding investment and technology, as well as working with other international payment unions,” Zaw Lin Htut said.

From late 2012, MPU has signed cooperation agreements with China’s UnionPay International, the Japan Credit Bureau, MasterCard and Visa.

Although the organization currently has around 1.2 million card users around the country, its services have been plagued by technical difficulties.

“Some users have complained about card errors, so we know that MPU cards can’t provide 100 percent service, but we will continue to try our best. We will try to raise user awareness too,” Zaw Lin Htut said.

Thet Ko Ko Myo, deputy general manager of Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank, a member bank of the MPU, said as a public company, MPU could play a key role on the stock exchange soon.

“With the stock exchange in Burma soon to be launched, with increased public awareness, it will develop fast,” he said.

He added however that banks in Burma still lacked the infrastructure to develop card based payment systems, citing the technical difficulties encountered under the MPU system.

Earlier this year, MPU announced that local cardholders would be able to make online purchases after companies enrolled with one of the firm’s then 20 local banking partners.

MPU cards can be used to make purchases at three branches of the country’s biggest retail chain City Mart. The organization expects all branches to be covered by the end of the year.

 

 

Your Thoughts …
Kyaw Hsu Mon

Kyaw Hsu Mon

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
90.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
In a Free Vote

In a Free Vote, the Ruling Party Faces Failure

At Least 14 Killed as Boat Overloaded with Migrants Capsizes off Malaysia

At Least 14 Killed as Boat Overloaded with Migrants Capsizes off Malaysia

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.4k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

1 day ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Belarus Universities Teach Myanmar Junta How to Kill: JFM

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.