Yangon, Myanmar, 29 October 2019 – KBZPay, the leading mobile wallet in Myanmar, presented awards to the finalist teams of Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Season 3, the country’s biggest Mobile Legends tournament organised by gaming company Moonton. The three-month long tournament, which drew participation from several hundred teams, culminated in the Grand Finals held on 27 October 2019 at Yangon Convention Centre. Six finalist teams battled it out for cash prize money totalling USD 50,000 in front of thousands in the audience.

KBZPay continued its partnership with Moonton as the biggest sponsor of MPL Season 3 to help bring Myanmar forward on the gaming stage. KBZPay offers purchases of Mobile Legends Diamonds to bring convenience to its customers who can continue playing the game with minimal interruption. At the Grand Finals of MPL Season 3, the KBZPay team engaged audience members and guided them through the benefits of using their KBZPay mobile wallet.

After several impressive rounds of Mobile Legends battles, Burmese Ghouls and Team Cyanide competed in the final round to claim the title of MPL Season 3 Champion. After a hotly contested battle, Burmese Ghouls emerged victorious to win the top cash prize of USD 13,000. U Zay Yar Wai Phyo, Deputy Head of Transaction Banking, KBZ Bank, presented prizes to the finalist teams.

The final results of the MPL Season 3 Grand Finals are as follows:

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About KBZPay

KBZPay is a mobile wallet that connects people to a digital economy that was once out of reach for many. Introduced in 2018 in line with KBZ Bank’s ambition toward 100% financial inclusion to support Myanmar’s development ambitions and needs, KBZPay brings financial services beyond the physical branches of the bank and into the palms of customers’ hands.

Millions of customers now enjoy a new banking experience, using KBZPay to manage their money, pay for goods and services, store cash, remit to loved ones and conduct daily financial tasks that were once labour-intensive and time consuming. KBZPay utilises the best and safest technology and with the support of KBZ Bank’s 18,000 staff, it is now the leading mobile wallet in Myanmar, connecting customers with thousands of merchants and agents across the country every day. For more information, please visit www.kbzpay.com and www.facebook.com/KBZPay.

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Yangon, Myanmar, 16 September 2019 – More than 10,000 students across Myanmar have attended financial literacy workshops as part of a collaborative effort between KBZPay and universities to provide financial education to the country’s youth. Since January 2019, workshops have been held at 29 universities located in Ayeyarwady Division, Kachin State, Kayin State, Mandalay Region, Tanintharyi Region, Mon State and Yangon Region.

The financial literacy workshops equip participants with knowledge and skills around managing personal finances. The topics covered include the importance of saving money and how to manage it wisely, the benefits that financial technology brings to peoples’ lives, tips for online safety and security, as well as guidance on how to use KBZPay, Myanmar’s fastest-growing mobile wallet.

“University students now have mobile phones with data plans as well as access to digital and financial services from a very early age – a major change from just a few short years ago. Empowering students on the basic principles of financial literacy builds awareness about financial responsibility and gives them a foundation from which they can make wise choices every day. I commend KBZ Bank and KBZPay for hosting financial literacy workshop sessions for our students,” said Rector Dr. Kyi Shwin, Yangon University of Foreign Languages.

Featuring lively discussions, interactive Q&As, and live polling sessions, the workshops allow students to share personal experiences and exchange perspectives with their peers.

Ko Sithu Khant Min, a student who participated in the financial literacy workshop held at Yangon Technological University, shared, “As students, we may not always think about personal finance and for some, they may not realise how important it is. The workshop conducted by KBZPay has helped us to understand financial skills that prepare us for life beyond the classroom. I am grateful for the skills gained and I hope to attend and learn from similar workshops in the future.”

Building on the momentum, KBZPay aims to host financial literacy workshops in a further 44
universities in the coming months, including in Bago Division and Rakhine State.

KBZ Bank acknowledges the massive opportunity to change the lives of people in Myanmar, and
has embarked on a journey towards achieving 100% financial inclusion through universal access to a free mobile transaction account. As we take strides towards this goal, we are grateful to the universities and professors across the country for their partnership to allow our teams to share financial education with students. We will continue to go beyond the doors of the branch, humanise the banking experience, and give youth and their wider communities the means to pursue a better life,” said Mike DeNoma, Chief Executive Officer, KBZ Bank.

Limited financial literacy has been identified as a key challenge for Myanmar in achieving sustainable social progress.

To overcome this challenge, KBZ Bank has recently launched a public awareness campaign titled
‘Let’s Talk About Money’ in partnership with print, online and broadcast media partners, as well as some of Myanmar’s top key opinion leaders – Dee Dee, May Thingyan Hein and Phyo Phyo Aung. Through the campaign, educational content about financial literacy and digital vigilance topics such as password security and spotting scams will be shared for the benefit of the wider public.

About KBZ Bank

KBZ Bank is Myanmar’s largest privately-owned bank, with more than 500 branches. Headquartered in Yangon, Myanmar, KBZ Bank’s vision is to improve the quality of life in Myanmar through banking.

KBZ Bank presently accounts for approximately 40% market share of both retail and commercial banking in the country. The bank is leading the way, particularly in digital and technology, for Myanmar’s rapidly developing financial services industry through an approach that understands the opportunities of innovation, the needs of the Myanmar people and the unique context of the country’s economy.

As Myanmar’s economy expands and opens up, KBZ Bank sees exciting opportunities to work with international investors, providing an important and critical bridge to Myanmar’s fast-growing cities, entrepreneurs and local communities. www.kbzbank.com

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KBZPay surpasses one million customers in just 6 months, with KBZ Bank staff nationwide bringing thousands of people into the mobile-first economy every day

Yangon, Myanmar, 28 January 2019 — KBZ Bank, Myanmar’s largest privately-owned bank, celebrates a significant milestone as KBZPay crosses the one millionth customer mark this week, cementing itself as the fastest growing mobile wallet in Myanmar. Since the pilot trial of KBZPay six months ago, the 18,000-strong KBZ Bank team across Myanmar has helped thousands of people to access financial services for the first time each day. 

KBZ Bank’s milestone comes as it moves beyond the branch doors to address the challenges with Myanmar’s predominantly cash-based society and make banking services more accessible to millions of people without a bank account. Employees of KBZ Bank visited communities and public areas in townships across the various states and regions nationwide. Together they clocked an astounding 325,000 hours on the ground engaging with customers face-to-face, achieving full KYC and digital on-boarding, using just their mobile phones. Additionally, the KBZ Bank team has brought more than 39,000 merchants onboard with KBZPay. 

Given the increasingly mobile-first population in the country, KBZ Bank now sets its sights on reaching 30 million KBZPay customers within the next ten years.

Mike DeNoma, Chief Executive Officer, KBZ Bank says, “We have had a resounding start in helping more people in Myanmar access everyday financial services and the formal economy through KBZPay. I’m incredibly proud of the team’s achievement – they are an inspiring and extraordinary force for financial inclusion. I would like to thank each and every staff member who has courageously brought KBZPay beyond the branch and into their communities to reach this milestone. We are excited for the journey ahead to touch the lives of millions more, improve the quality of their lives through banking, and move towards 100% financial inclusion in Myanmar.”

KBZPay is a mobile wallet stored in an app on the mobile phone. Aside from storing money, the KBZPay app allows customers to access the most essential financial services all day and night in the palm of their hands. They can make cashless transactions, send and receive money, and withdraw physical cash through authorised agents. Now available for download across the country, KBZPay offers a safer, simpler and more convenient way to transact.

More than 1.3 million people have downloaded the KBZPay app to-date and one million have digitally verified their accounts with NRC and biometric verification. Customers using verified accounts are allowed to access the full suite of KBZPay services such as payment transactions, money transfers, ‘cash in’, ‘cash out’ and mobile airtime top-up on all major telcos. 

How KBZ Bank Started Its Journey Towards 30 Million KBZPay Customers

August 2018:

• Pilot launch of KBZPay commenced

November 2018:

• KBZPay Day public events were held in Yangon and Mandalay
• 500,000 registered customers, along with sign-ups of 10,000 agents and 17,000 merchants

December 2018:   

• More than 123,000 new customers signed up over the weekend of 15th and 16th December 2018
  • Involved more than 10,000 KBZ Bank staff reaching out to communities and registering customers on-ground
  • 4,000 registrations per hour over the weekend, 200 transactions per second 

January 2019:

• Sign ups of more than 18,000 new customers daily
• Crossed the one millionth verified customer mark on 25 January 2019

Signing Up For KBZPay

Anyone with a smartphone using mobile numbers from MPT, Telenor, Ooredoo, and MyTel can register for KBZPay free-of-charge, regardless if the person has a bank account. 

To sign up for KBZPay, customers simply need to:

• Download the KBZPay app on Google Play Store or Apple App Store or at www.kbzpay.com.
• Create an account with basic details such as birth date, NRC, mobile number, and set their account password. 
• Visit one of our over 500 KBZ Bank branches or the nearest merchant or agent to verify their NRC and complete the onboarding process.
• Top-up or withdraw funds from the mobile wallet through an agent or by linking their KBZ Bank account with the KBZPay app to top up funds.

Persons interested to become a KBZPay authorised agent or partner can contact the KBZ Bank team at 3211 or +95 99 6996 3211, or by email at [email protected]. 
For more information about KBZPay, please visit https://www.kbzpay.com.