Myanmar’s Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank and Malaysia-based cross-border payments provider Tranglo have formed a remittance partnership to facilitate inbound money transfers directly into the accounts of KBZ Bank customers. The service, which has been approved by the Central Bank of Myanmar, allows Myanmar citizens working in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea to send money home more cheaply and efficiently without the need to go through traditional or informal means of remitting money, which can be expensive, troublesome and risky.
Beneficiaries will receive the money in real-time in their current, savings deposit or call deposit accounts with KBZ Bank and be able to withdraw the funds via ATM or access the money through KBZPay. Those who wish to remit money to Myanmar through Tranglo can do so at Tranglo’s counters in Malaysia or the branches of its partners such as GPL and MaxMoney in Malaysia, SlidesSG in Singapore, or GME in South Korea. The maximum amount for each remittance transaction to Myanmar is the equivalent of US$5000 in the local kyat.
With the KBZ Bank Partnership, Tranglo will extend its global network – which now includes countries such as China, Indonesia and Singapore – to include Myanmar. For Tranglo, Myanmar represents a significant market in an increasingly competitive remittance industry. The World Bank estimates that more than US$3 billion was formally remitted by Myanmar migrant workers in 2019, approximately 4.6 percent of Myanmar’s GDP. This does not include the funds that are informally remitted through brokers or hand-carried back home.
Source: Myanmar Times