KULAI, March 10 — Since its inception in 2023, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s Cashless Society programme has recorded 20,035 cashless transactions as of February this year.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said 2,740 traders were successfully registered during the same period.
She said that the programme that started in Melaka last year has now been expanded to three more states, namely Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang.
“For 2024, the Cashless Society programme will be implemented in 61 selected locations (touchpoints) in three states, namely Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang,” she said after officiating the programme at the Felda Taib Andak National Information Dissemination Centre (NaDi) here today.
She added that Cashless Society would be implemented in phases in collaboration with the Johor government, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and other strategic partners via programmes such as Cashless@NaDi in selected Felda settlements, the Cashless month campaign and the Cashless Carnival.
Teo said the programmes aim to raise awareness among the local community and traders about the benefits of cashless payments and the adoption of technology such as e-wallets, DuitNow, QR codes, and debit/credit cards in boosting the local economy.
“In Johor, I have been informed that the Cashless@NaDi programme will be implemented in 17 locations within the Felda settlements,” she said.
According to Teo, the primary focus of the initiative was to facilitate micro- and small-scale traders in accepting and utilising cashless payment methods.
She said that 11 new NaDi will be established in Johor, involving 11 state constituencies in nine parliamentary constituencies, and are expected to be completed before the end of this year.
“I hope that through the joint strategic collaboration between the state government, MCMC, Felda, financial service providers and banks, we can reach the target of recording 10,000 cashless transactions by the end of 2024,” she said.
The Cashless Society programme is an initiative aimed at raising awareness and instilling confidence in the adoption of cashless payments among Malaysians.
It seeks to promote the understanding that digital payments are not only convenient but also easy, safe and fast. — Bernama
