Leapfrog spotting
Mobile phones may regenerate the country’s withered banking system
FOR a foreigner at least, it is still a bit of a thrill to use an ATM machine in downtown Yangon. After years of carting around wads of dog-eared dollars to exchange for even larger wads of ancient, crumbling kyat, the local currency, immaculate new machines now disgorge crisp new banknotes. It is a minor miracle. Linked to the international payment system only late last year, hundreds of ATMs around the country can now be used on Visa’s payments system.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Leapfrog spotting”
From the September 28th 2013 edition
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