What Myanmar kyat actually arrives in Myanmar when someone sends Australian dollars, at the live mid-market rate. We explain the process; we never recommend a provider.
| They send (AUD) | You receive at mid-market (MMK) |
|---|---|
| 500 AUD | 731,195 MMK |
| 1,000 AUD | 1,462,390 MMK |
| 2,000 AUD | 2,924,780 MMK |
| 5,000 AUD | 7,311,950 MMK |
Mid-market equivalents, not transfer quotes - the sender’s provider deducts its margin and any fees before the money reaches you. STRUCK 11:00 AEST · TUE 13 OCT.
A Southeast Asian nation where thousands of golden stupas rise from the plains of Bagan and the Irrawaddy River threads the whole country together. Myanmar keeps its own clock, literally.
Three horizontal bands of yellow, green and red with a large white five-pointed star in the centre. The constitution carries the State Flag in a chapter of its own and prescribes the design without interpreting it. The law it calls for does the interpreting: the Union Flag Law of 2010 gives the yellow unity, conformity, huge wisdom, happiness and the amicable unity of all national races, the green fertility, conformity, fairness and being a peaceful, pleasant and greening nation, the red bravery and decisiveness, and the white of the star purity, honesty, fullness of compassion and power. The flag replaced the previous one on 21 October 2010, the day that law was made, and was first hoisted that afternoon at a ceremony attended by the prime minister.
A continent pretending to be a country - Australia is the only nation that fills an entire continent, with most of its 27 million people clinging to the coast while the red-dirt interior does its own thing.
A blue field with the Union Jack in the canton, a large white seven-pointed Commonwealth Star below it, and the five white stars of the Southern Cross at the fly. Six of the big star's points stand for the states and the seventh for the territories; the Southern Cross marks Australia's place in the southern sky.
Myanmar operates exchange controls, and the official reference rate and the rate obtainable in practice have diverged substantially. A mid-market kyat figure is a reference point rather than a prediction of what a recipient will be credited.
The exchange rate is set on the sending side - by the service the sender chooses in Australia - so the most useful thing a receiver can do happens before the transfer: share the live mid-market rate on this page so the sender can judge the margin in their quote. How the money arrives in Myanmar determines any local receiving charges - bank-to-bank transfers can pass through intermediary banks that deduct handling fees.
Sending rather than receiving? The sender’s view of this corridor covers the same rate from the other side. The AUD/MMK converter page handles any amount. Receiving money from overseas explains the process end to end.
A mobile wallet is a common last leg for money reaching Myanmar, and the central bank fixes what one can hold. The Central Bank of Myanmar issued its regulation on mobile financial services on 30 March 2016, under the Financial Institutions Law, and it sorts accounts into three levels for anti-money-laundering purposes: two for individuals and one for registered legal entities. Each level pairs an identity requirement with a ceiling, and the regulation sets both, so a provider does not choose them.
A level one account requires identification to be presented if and when necessary, with the national identity card first in priority, a driving licence second and a passport after that. Its cumulative transactions are capped at 50,000 kyat a day and one million a month, against a maximum balance of 200,000 kyat. A level two account requires the holder to submit either a registered mobile subscription or those same documents, and raises the figures to 200,000 a day, five million a month and a balance of one million.
There are carve-outs. Payments to merchants and financial institutions, and payments of utility bills, taxes or government fees, do not count towards them. Where a holder has more than one account with the same provider, the balances and transactions are aggregated across all of them.
One check runs against a database. A provider must validate what was given at account opening against the mobile operators' subscription records within 48 hours, and must suspend the account where a discrepancy is found until it is resolved. The counter side is an agent network. A provider may use agents as its sole interface to customers, may not make an agent exclusive to it, and remains legally responsible for what they do while they are acting for it.
Sources: Central Bank of Myanmar, Regulation on Mobile Financial Services (Notification 3/2016) · Government of Myanmar service portal, Regulations on mobile financial services
How much Myanmar kyat will I receive in Myanmar?
A little less than the mid-market figures above. The service the sender uses in Australia sets the rate and fees; local receiving banks in Myanmar can also apply their own charges depending on how the transfer arrives.
The sender asked for my details - what will they need?
Whatever their transfer service asks for on the receiving side - typically your full legal name and local bank account details in Myanmar. Give the name exactly as your bank records it; mismatches are the most common reason a transfer is delayed.
Why did I receive less than the rate on this page suggests?
The mid-market rate is the midpoint between global buy and sell prices, and no retail provider deals at it. The gap between it and a quote is the provider’s margin, which is usually where most of the cost of a transfer sits. On a bank-to-bank transfer an intermediary bank can also deduct a handling charge in transit.