Banks in Arakan (Rakhine) State’s Thandwe and Gwa townships have stopped allowing cash withdrawals, exacerbating cash shortages and making it harder to provide aid.
There is already a shortage of cash throughout Arakan State because almost all banks in the state are currently closed and any open ones have restricted the amount of cash people can withdraw.
This is particularly causing problems for aid providers in the State who rely on cash to make payments on the ground.
The cash shortage means that people who need cash, including aid providers, are having to rely on agents. They have to transfer money online to an agent’s bank account and the agent then pays them the cash, minus their commission.
Because cash shortages have become so great in some Arakan Army (AA) controlled areas of Arakan State, the AA has urged people to not refuse any slightly damaged banknotes as they normally would and instead, continue using old and damaged bank notes, as long as their serial numbers are still visible.
Unfortunately, on top of a lack of cash, worsening internet and phone line outages in Arakan Sate are making it harder for the agents to operate and provide cash. These increased difficulties have also meant that the agents are charging far higher commissions.
It is especially hard to get hold of cash in Thandwe and Gwa townships due to increased fighting in those areas. There have been severe internet and phone service outages in Thandwe Township since June meaning that very few agents can still provide cash and any form of online banking or transactions are almost impossible.
As a result, in Thandwe and Gwa Townships fees for getting cash from agents have skyrocketed and range from 15 to 20 percent of the entire amount being converted into cash.
An aid worker from Thandwe Township said: "There aren't as many money withdrawal service operators as before, making it harder for us to convert online donations into cash for the war-displaced people [IDPs].”
They explained: “Without cash, it often leads to delays and hinders efforts to support the war-displaced.”
Making the situation worse for IDPs in the area, the junta has completely blockaded all routes into Thandwe and Gwa townships, leading to a severe shortage of food and medicines which, as a result, have dramatically increased in cost.
A Thandwe resident said to DMG: "Shortages of food and medicine have reached a critical level, with the medicine shortage being particularly severe. Although the food issue might be addressed through alternative methods, the lack of medicine remains a more urgent concern.”
Fighting has forced tens of thousands of people to flee Thandwe and Gwa townships and seek refuge in safer areas. They are currently in urgent need of food and medicine.
According to a 26 August 2024 AA statement, heavy fighting between the AA and the junta is ongoing near the junta’s Maung Shwe Lay Naval Base in Thandwe Township and in Kyeintali Town in Gwa Township.
