Myanmar is making its first moves towards being integrated into the global financial system after MasterCard issued the country’s Co-Operative Bank a license. The US company has become the first payments operator to make such a move in the formerly reclusive state.
Co-Operative Bank has the largest number of ATMs in Myanmar and the agreement will allow the bank to issue MasterCard-branded cards and enable merchants to accept them. The move is the latest step in the development of a new payment network that it is hoped will form an entry path for international credit card companies as early as 2013, with Visa recently announcing it will provide training to prepare banks for electronic payments.