KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 11): Malaysia’s homegrown e-wallet service provider Boost welcomed the Government’s announcement to offer a one-time RM30 stimulus for qualified Malaysians that register with selected e-wallet providers in order to increase e-wallet usage.
“The Government’s e-wallet stimulus initiative will greatly drive the adoption of e-wallets as an exceedingly convenient method of payment for consumers,” said Boost chief executive officer Mohd Khairil Abdullah in a statement today.
“Importantly, it can also be viewed as a form of endorsement of the technology used, which is safe and very secure for financial transactions,” he said.
At the Budget 2020 tabling today, Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng said that the Government will provide the one-time stimulus to qualified Malaysians aged 18 and above with annual income below RM100,000.
“The one-time digital stimulus per person can be redeemed and used for a two-month period commencing 1 January 2020 and expiring on 29 February 2020.
“The Government will allocate up to RM450 million to Khazanah Nasional to implement this digital stimulus, which will benefit up to 15 million Malaysians,” Lim said.
This move, Lim added, is also to significantly increase the number of participating merchants and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the usage of e-wallets.
In his statement, Khairil said for many Malaysians, the Government’s e-wallet stimulus will encourage them to try a new experience — their first time using an e-wallet.
He pointed out that while retail brands have embraced the digital payment ecosystem, the landscape is also changing where many small and micro businesses are also adopting e-wallet payments.
“We hope we can be a driver of change for the country in our journey towards becoming a cashless society.
“The Government’s e-wallet stimulus will certainly spur domestic spending for local merchants which not only spreads more prosperity throughout our economy but will also catalyze higher adoption of digital payments amongst businesses,” he added.