Numerous KBZ Accounts of Arakan Residents Inaccessible

News ၊ June 16, 2026

Numerous KBZ Mobile Banking accounts used for transferring and withdrawing money in Arakan State have reportedly become inaccessible, according to local residents and money transfer service providers.

This widespread account lock followed a technology system upgrade by KBZ Bank on June 11, which affected both KPay and KBZ Mobile Banking accounts.

Sources stated that the affected accounts are mostly those with high transaction volumes, though the exact reason behind the restriction remains unconfirmed.

Banking operations in Arakan State have been halted since the launch of the town-capture offensives in late 2023. Due to the military's blockade of trade routes, locals have faced shortages of basic commodities and medicines, alongside a severe cash crunch.

With traditional banking suspended, residents have relied entirely on online financial services such as KBZ Pay (KPay) and Wave Pay for both domestic and international remittances.

Analysts note that the current account accessibility issue is likely to worsen the regional cash shortage and severely impact the livelihood and survival of local residents.

According to an official announcement on KBZ Bank's Facebook page "In order to provide better services to KBZ Bank customers, technology upgrades will be performed.

Consequently, KBZ mBanking and iBanking services will be temporarily unavailable from 10:00 PM on June 11, 2026, to 1:30 AM on June 12, 2026. All services will resume regular operations once the system upgrade is complete."

Despite this official statement, accounts belonging to Arakan residents remain unusable to this day.

Amid ongoing battles in Arakan, the majority of the population including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and daily wage earners face severe job scarcity and depend heavily on foreign remittances sent by relatives abroad.

Local merchants also expressed concerns that this disruption will create immense difficulties for regional traders in making payments and exchanging currency to order goods.

Since the blocked accounts hold high transaction volumes, individuals with large sums of money stuck inside these accounts are facing significant financial losses.

Consequently, several money transfer service providers in Arakan have been forced to suspend their businesses. Coupled with the existing cash shortage, they are no longer able to dispense cash on demand.

Prior to this incident, the service fee for withdrawing cash through online platforms like KPay and Wave Money ranged from 2,500 to 3,500 Kyats per 100,000 Kyats. Currently, the withdrawal fee has spiked to between 4,500 and 5,000 Kyats per 100,000 Kyats.

Banking operations have been paralyzed in Arakan since the town-capture battles began in late 2023, leaving residents entirely dependent on online mobile financial services like KBZ Pay, Wave Pay, and Wave Money for local and international fund transfers.

A resident from Minbya noted that the fallout from this situation will hinder the work of local social aid groups managing money transfers, further worsening the plight of displaced people who urgently need aid.

Since the banking halt, the region has been operating solely on the physical cash remaining in circulation.

Following the mass suspension of these mobile money accounts and the resulting cash squeeze, agents are struggling to keep their businesses running, causing withdrawal service fees to climb back up to 5%.

According to local agents, they do not pocket this entire service fee. Instead, they have to purchase physical cash at premium rates from individuals holding liquid currency just to provide intermediary withdrawal services.

The high withdrawal fees and restrictions on cash limits are disproportionately harming low-income daily wage earners and rural communities across Arakan, who have no local job opportunities and rely solely on foreign remittances to survive.

Source@DMG