Credit Card in Myanmar

A year ago, Myanmar had no automated teller machines linked to international networks and not a single hotel or restaurant able to swipe credit cards. The throngs of foreigners arriving in the newly opened country had to bring crisp U.S. dollars to pay for everything. Today, Myanmar has 2,500 machines that process credit card payments, known as payment terminals, and 450 ATMs, including at least three at the gates of Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda, a popular tourist attraction, according to Kanbawza Bank, the largest privately owned bank in Myanmar. There's a long way to go. While "the absolute need to carry bags of cash is declining, Myanmar remains a cash economy," says Matt Davies, the International Monetary Fund's mission chief to the country. "It takes time for practices to change." (Bloomberg Businessweek October 28 - November 3, 2013 P.46-47)