YANGON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) has been making efforts to lure more foreign remittances through official channels, U Set Aung, CBM's deputy governor, said on Tuesday.
As migrant workers, especially those in Thailand, are mostly hard laborers and less-educated, they are not familiar with banking systems and use unofficial channels such as Hundi for their remittances to homeland.
To enable official remittance, the CBM is seeking cooperation with the Bank of Thailand and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
U Set Aung said the CBM will focus on cross border mobile payment system to enable migrant workers more flexible through official channels in sending money home.
If the country could completely get the foreign remittances, it will be able to fulfill its foreign currency demand, according to local economists.
Myanmar is the largest migration source country in the Greater Mekong Subregion with an estimated 4.25 million nationals living abroad, according to the International Organization for Migration.
