A report by Krause Publications indicates that the national economy of Myanmar is returning to a primitive and/or scrip based economy, mostly due to the poor value of the national currency.
Debit and credit cards don’t exist. Checks are seldom accepted. Although the government announced a new issue of 50- and 100-kyat coins would be released in late 2008 none are seen in circulation. Low denomination bank notes are in short supply and typically circulate in ragged condition, while according to Reuters and other reporting agencies it now appears the government has ceased printing even the highest denomination 5,000-kyat bank note.
According to “Today in Myanmar,” “The only way to buy things in Myanmar is to carry a large bag full of 1,000-kyat notes. To buy a car or a land you will have to carry a large bag full of currency notes, and it will take eternity to count all the money. Sometimes business people carry money in large plastic or cloth bags, a kind of bag used to carry things in supermarkets or in shops.”
The Feb. 10 Reuters report added, “In Sittwe, the capital of [the] western Rakhine state, teashop owners manufacture their own coupons to use as currency.”
Reuters quoted teashop owner Ko Aung Knine as saying, “It’s far more convenient to use these self-circulated notes instead of small items,” adding, “but you need to make sure coupons can’t be forged. Mostly we use a computer to print it with the name of the shop, face value, and signature of the shop owner.”
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