KUALA LUMPUR: Bolstered by improvements in innovation via technology, Malaysians are poised to become a cashless society with the changing payment landscape.
A source familiar with the cashless initiative said cashless payments could be extended to even small transactions involving a few ringgit.
“This would revolutionise the payment landscape in the country and widen the net for the society to embrace such transactions,” said the source whose company supplies portable transaction terminals to facilitate cashless payments.
The cashless facility for small businesses initiative was among the selected projects under the New Wealth Creation and Ecosystem Initiatives, Malaysia 2021 and Beyond, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday.
The projects are launched via the Special Innovation Unit (UNIK) which comes under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office.
UNIK is envisioning a cashless society in the future by promoting e-payment which offers convenience and payment flexibility to consumers.
Under the initiative, UNIK will be leveraging on a strategic tie up with Permodalan Sejahtera Sdn Bhd to offer small businesses the opportunity to carry out small cashless transactions from a few ringgit to a few hundred ringgit.
“These transactions will be handled via portable micro devices which will run on the Malaysia Domestic Exchange Framework that will link these portable terminals directly to the banks,” the source said.
He said the terminals would be able to handle credit and debit cards as well as providing mobile reloads.
Currently, established companies already have a system in place to accept credit and debit cards.
However, most often there is a minimum amount of RM50 imposed by the companies before cards can be used due to the charges and cost incurred by the vendors to operate the system. — Bernama