Central Bank of Myanmar

What Central Bank of Myanmar does

The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) is the statutory monetary authority of Myanmar, established formally under the Central Bank of Myanmar Law (Law No. 15/90, enacted 2 July 1990, with subsequent amendments in 1995, 1997, and 2013), tracing its origins to the Burma Currency Board of 1946 and the Union Bank of Burma (1952). It is wholly owned by the Government of Myanmar, headquartered in Nay Pyi Taw with regional offices in Yangon and Mandalay, and operates with 501–1,000 employees. CBM is the sole issuer of the Myanmar Kyat, the regulator of all banks, non-bank financial institutions, mobile financial services providers, and payment card issuers, and the operator of Myanmar's national payment and securities infrastructure.

Its core product set comprises nine operational pillars: (1) the CBM-NET System, an electronic payment and settlement backbone handling interbank fund transfers, Automated Clearing House (ACH) operations, cheque truncation (CTS), and Central Securities Depository (CSD) functions; (2) Currency Management, including issuance of denominations from 50 to 10,000 kyats and the 2014–2015 high-security note series and 2020 Bogyoke Design notes; (3) Foreign Exchange Management, including Authorized Dealer and Money Changer licensing; (4) Government Securities Services — Treasury Bill and Treasury Bond auctions, calculators, and market-weighted-average reporting; (5) Financial Institutions Regulation across state-owned banks, 27 private banks, 16 foreign branches, and 3 foreign bank subsidiaries; (6) Monetary Policy Services, including the Central Bank Rate (9%), Minimum Bank Deposit Rate (7%), and Maximum Bank Lending Rate (15%); (7) Mobile Banking Oversight, including the MMQR national QR code standard; (8) Interbank Money Market operations, including repo and bilateral FX; and (9) AML/CFT Compliance Services.

CBM does not operate a commercial revenue model. Income derives from seigniorage and net interest on monetary operations; the only direct fee schedule disclosed is nominal license fees for Authorized Dealers (MMK 2,000,000 initial / MMK 300,000 renewal) and Money Changers (MMK 500,000 for banks, MMK 1,000,000 for non-banks). Distribution is conducted via three regional offices to state-owned and private banks, with Myanma Economic Bank and Myanmar Securities Exchange Center (MSEC) serving as appointed primary dealers for treasury bond issuance since January 2010. International cooperation includes the Asian Clearing Union for cross-border settlement, JICA grant arrangements for capital market development, and MoU-based technical assistance partnerships with the Japan Exchange Group, Daiwa Institute of Research, Stock Exchange of Thailand, Korea Exchange, and Japan's Policy Research Institute.

Name

Central Bank of Myanmar

Legal name

Central Bank of Myanmar

Website

https://cbm.gov.mm

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Central Bank of Myanmar is Myanmar's statutory monetary authority and sole issuer of the Kyat. It operates national payment and securities infrastructure (CBM-NET, CSD, CTS), regulates banks and mobile financial services, conducts monetary policy, and manages foreign exchange and government securities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Central Banking

NAICS

Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (521110), Monetary Authorities-Central Bank (52111), Public Finance Activities (921130)

SIC

Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099), Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Treasury & Cash Management (BPAIAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government Bonds & Sovereigns Trading (FSACAEAA), Coin & Currency Logistics (Mint-to-Bank Distribution) (BPAKAIAD)

Keywords

• Monetary policy implementation
• Currency issuance services
• Payment system infrastructure
• Foreign exchange regulation
• Financial supervision

Headquarters

HQ city

Yangon

HQ country

Myanmar (Burma)

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Central Bank of Myanmar operates as the nation's central monetary authority, issuing domestic currency (kyat bank notes and coins), formulating and implementing monetary policy, supervising and regulating banks and financial institutions, managing foreign exchange operations, operating the CBM-NET national payment and settlement infrastructure, and conducting auctions of government treasury bills and bonds.

Product overview

The Central Bank of Myanmar operates as the nation's central monetary authority providing a comprehensive suite of financial services and regulatory functions. The core offerings include: (1) CBM-NET System - an electronic payment and settlement infrastructure handling fund transfers, ACH, cheque truncation, and securities depository; (2) Currency Management - sole issuer of domestic bank notes and coins; (3) Foreign Exchange Management - regulatory oversight of FX operations and exchange rate management; (4) Government Securities Services - Treasury Bill and Bond issuance and auction management; (5) Financial Institutions Regulation - supervision of banks, credit bureaus, and mobile financial services; (6) Monetary Policy Services - reserve requirements, interest rate policy, and deposit auctions; and (7) AML/CFT Compliance Framework. This is a platform of regulatory and financial market infrastructure services rather than a single product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CBM-NET System

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Japan Exchange GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapan Exchange Group provides technical assistance for Myanmar Capital Market Development according to MoU agreements, working alongside other Japanese institutions to develop Myanmar's securities market.
• Daiwa Institute of Research (DIR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssigned by ASEAN Secretariat for technical assistance Phase I (June 2011 to May 2012) and Phase II (June 2013 to May 2014) under the ASEAN Bond Market Initiative program.
• Stock Exchange of ThailandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides technical assistance for Myanmar Capital Market Development according to MoU agreements signed to support securities market development.
• Korea ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides technical assistance for Myanmar Capital Market Development according to MoU agreements supporting exchange and securities market development.
• Policy Research Institute of Ministry of Finance, JapanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides technical assistance for Myanmar Capital Market Development according to MoU agreements supporting policy research and market development.
• Securities and Exchange Commission of ThailandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides technical assistance for Myanmar Capital Market Development according to MoU agreements supporting regulatory framework development.
• Asian Clearing Union (ACU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCBM participates in the Asian Clearing Union for regional payment and settlement services, facilitating cross-border transactions with other ACU member countries.
• Myanma Economic BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAppointed as agent for sale and underwriter of Government Treasury Bonds since January 2010, operating multiple branches in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon for retail distribution.
• Myanmar Securities Exchange Center Co., Ltd (MSEC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAppointed as agent for sale and underwriter of Government Treasury Bonds since January 2010, providing secondary market trading capabilities for government securities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Reserve Bank of India: India's central bank is a much larger broad incumbent in the emerging-market monetary authority space, operating comparable functions (RTGS/NEFT, banking supervision, FX, government securities auctions) at substantially greater scale.

Direct peers

• National Bank of Cambodia: Cambodia's central bank is a smaller ASEAN neighbor central bank with comparable functions across currency issuance (riel), banking supervision, and payment system oversight in a developing economy context.
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas: The central bank of the Philippines is a closely comparable Southeast Asian emerging-market monetary authority with a similar mandate spanning currency issuance, payment system oversight, banking supervision, and FX management.
• Bank Indonesia: Indonesia's central bank is a regional peer with a comparable mandate across rupiah issuance, BI-RTGS/ACH payment systems, banking supervision, and rupiah FX management in an emerging ASEAN economy.
• Bank of the Lao PDR: Laos's central bank is the most structurally analogous peer—a small, developing ASEAN monetary authority with limited capital markets, significant state-owned bank presence, and reliance on external technical assistance.
• Bank of Thailand: Thailand's central bank operates comparable monetary policy, payment infrastructure (PromptPay/RTGS), and FX management functions, and is one of CBM's explicit technical assistance partners—making it a direct regional peer.
• Bangladesh Bank: Bangladesh's central bank is a comparable developing-economy monetary authority managing a managed FX regime, supervising a fragmented banking sector, and overseeing a large national payment system (BEFTN/NPSB).
• State Bank of Vietnam: Vietnam's central bank operates a similar one-party-state monetary authority model with extensive FX administration, state-owned bank supervision, and a developing payment system—an instructive parallel for CBM's institutional structure.

Emerging players

• Bank of Ghana: Ghana's central bank is a comparable emerging-market monetary authority with a developing payment system (GhanaPay/GHIPSS), significant FX volatility, and active monetary policy operations—offering a useful parallel for emerging-market central banking challenges.
• Central Bank of Nigeria: Nigeria's central bank is a comparable emerging-market monetary authority managing multiple exchange rate windows, banking sector supervision, and a national payment system (NIBSS) in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CentralBankMyanmar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Central Bank of Myanmar