MasterCard continues to expand financial inclusion in Myanmar

A recent MasterCard survey on Consumer Purchasing Priorities – Travel indicates that 3 out of 5 Myanmar consumers surveyed intend to travel within the next 12 months (either as much or more than they did in the past 12 months). The MAB Travel Prepaid MasterCard provides consumers with the ability to make payment when travelling overseas, be it for leisure, business or education, or when shopping online on ecommerce websites.

Since 2012, MasterCard has continued to advance financial inclusion, allowing more people who were previously unbanked to gain access to formal financial services. Besides the MAB Travel Prepaid MasterCard, the company has launched prepaid cards together with Co-operative Bank, Kanbawza Bank, Ayeyarwady Bank and Myanmar Citizen Bank with 2C2P, the last of which was also Myanmar’s first smartphone-enabled Prepaid Card.

MasterCard has also made efforts to advance financial literacy by introducing financial educational programs in Myanmar. A recent partnership with Ooredoo was aimed at making economic and finance materials more accessible to the Myanmar population, which would help democratise education as well. Pledging USD 10,000, MasterCard had helped expedite the translation of Khan Academy’s economic and finance videos into the Myanmar language so more people could benefit from it. At present, more than 2,000 restaurants, retail outlets and hotels in Myanmar accept payment cards.