Wave Money starts testing mobile financial services

Wave Money, a joint venture between Norwegian-owned cellco Telenor Myanmar and Yoma Bank to provide mobile financial services to the mass market, has begun commercial testing, the Myanmar Times writes, citing CEO Brad Jones. The tests will run over the next two months, and the company hopes to receive regulatory approval from the Central Bank for a full commercial launch in early 2016, once the draft Mobile Financial Services Regulation has been approved. ‘We are excited about the prospect of providing services to aid the Union Government of Myanmar in reaching its financial inclusion targets,’ the official was quoted as saying, referring to the government’s target of making financial services available to at least 40% of the population by 2020. ‘Mobile operators, partnering with banks, are best placed to expand the reach of financial services in Myanmar to those that are unbanked today, leveraging distribution networks already in place,’ Mr Jones added.