By Malcolm Lau
KUCHING, Jan 17: The initiative of e-Tunai Rakyat was to speed up the digitisation of the national economy as well as promote a cashless society.
“The use of e-wallet is not limited to big companies only but it is also widely used by small entrepreneurs,” said Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng during Tinjauan e-Tunai Rakyat on Friday night.
“I saw the hawkers selling fried chicken rice and kuih-muih at the stall using the e-wallet system while I was at Petaling Jaya, Selangor,” Lim said, explaining how widely used this fintech can be in everyday transactions.
According to Lim, the programme was not only to encourage the public to use e-wallets, but also to boost the confidence of small entrepreneurs.
“The government launched the e-Tunai Rakyat programme on Jan 15 this year where the public will receive free RM30 if they earn less than RM100,000 annually and are above 18 years old,” Lim said.
Lim noted that a total of RM450 million had been allocated for the programme as announced in Budget 2020 on Oct 11 last year.
“I urge all entrepreneurs to register with e-wallet as they can benefit from the programme by the government,” Lim added.
He also said that participation from the public in this programme will assist government efforts to reduce the digital divide not only between small and big companies, but also urban and rural areas.
Three e-wallet companies – Boost, Grabpay and Touch ‘n Go – are participating in this programme which will run until March 14. Users will get RM30 in their participating e-wallets if they fulfill the criteria. —DayakDaily
