Wave Money to take action against overcharging agents

By DMG 22 May 2021

DMG Newsroom
22 May 2021, Sittwe

Wave Money, one of Myanmar’s top mobile financial services providers, said the company would take action against agents who overcharge on service fees.

“We have been facing many challenges since February, but the lack of regular banking services, unrestricted mobile internet outages, unstable internet services, internet disruptions and power outages have severely disrupted operations,” Wave Money said in a statement on its Facebook page on May 21.

In addition, Wave Money agents are facing shortages of banknotes and increasing volume of remittance services, the statement said.

“In the face of these difficulties, we understand the plight of agents, but do not allow higher fees, and will investigate and take action against agents who take advantage, and take appropriate action against [any misconduct] in accordance with appropriate regulations,” the statement added.

An agent in Sittwe, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Wave Money had not been able to attend to its agents during Myanmar’s political crisis.

“At the moment, Wave Money doesn’t send money regularly to agents like us. So we have to pay with our own money to pay the people who withdraw money. We have to line up at the bank and withdraw as much as we can to get that money. So we have to charge a little bit more,” he explained.

Currently, Wave Money customers are paying more for remittance services due to difficulties withdrawing cash from banks across Myanmar.

According to one Wave Money user, some agents charge up to 13% more for withdrawals.

“We can no longer withdraw money at any Wave Money representative shop in Sittwe. Wave Money dealerships also charge a service fee of more than 10% of the withdrawal. Who will pay us if we complain to Wave Money about the higher fees?” said Ko Kyaw Than, a resident of Sittwe.

The need for cash has risen as the military has cut off internet services since a military coup on February 1, allowing only about K500,000 per person per week to be withdrawn from bank accounts.