Myanmar may be open for business, but with an economy that is still
primarily cash-based, there remain real barriers to foreign business
travellers who are responding to the exciting opportunities of this
emerging market. Today’s travellers to Myanmar have found that they need
to carry US dollars to make any transaction. And not just any old US
dollars – these bills must be clean and crisp, as merchants frequently
reject blemished, creased, torn, damaged or old currency.
Further, travelling around Myanmar – or any country – with an excessive
amount of cash just isn’t sensible. Besides the inconvenience, carrying
cash can be a concern for security reasons.
These issues are more pressing given that Myanmar’s reintroduction to
the world will – and already has – made it a venue for major events that
draw delegates globally. The World Economic Forum on East Asia in June
and the 27th Southeast Asian Games in December are two examples.
During such events, it is critical that merchants be able to process
massive amounts of payments in short periods of time. As the situation
stands, however, Myanmar’s financial infrastructure can’t adequately
handle the incoming logistical needs of foreign delegates.
Allowing international business travellers to use their payment cards
in Myanmar makes their lives easier. But there’s more to it than that:
the shift from paper-based currency to payment cards creates significant
opportunity for countries like Myanmar to reduce the logistical
financial barriers to investment in their countries and capture greater
business spending.
Myanmar’s financial infrastructure continues to develop, and ATMs and
point-of-sale credit card terminals are being introduced across the
country. In the meantime, however, business travellers should remember
to bring crisp, clean and new US currency, inform their banks that they will be travelling to Myanmar and, if possible, exchange their currency at the airport for more competitive rates.
source: CEI
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