Singapore-based fintech startup is pulling out of a new Shwe Kokko project

FINCY, a Singapore-based fintech startup, is pulling out of a new Myanmar border city, amid allegations that it is being used to prevent law enforcement from tracking financial transactions in the city, The Business Times reported.

Its app, which enables users to perform currency exchange and pay merchants in various countries, is said to be the exclusive provider of financial infrastructure to Shwe Kokko’s 40,000 residents, who use the app to make purchases, perform transactions, receive salaries and manage their expenses digitally.

Recent reports by the United States Institute of Peace, a US Congress-funded body, have raised concerns that Shwe Kokko is being developed as a front for large-scale gambling activities. The city, located on the border with Thailand, is a site of a US$15 billion gambling-centered project under construction, and seems primed to operate outside of Myanmar law, alleged the report, which was published in July.

(Mizzima: http://mizzima.com/article/singapore-based-fintech-startup-pulls-out-shwe-kokko-project )

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