As of 5 February 2020, six million Malaysians have successfully claimed their RM30 digital incentive through the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. This totals to a payout of RM180 million to all the applicants.
That said, the e-Tunai Rakyat programme has yet to meet its goals. The government had set aside RM450 million for the initiative, with the aim of dispensing it out to 15 million eligible Malaysians to stimulate the use of digital payments and e-wallets.
“We hope to attract 15 million Malaysians of the age of more than 18 years old and having an income of less than RM100,000 a year,” said Guan Eng.
Guan Eng also noted that successful applicants can get more than the RM30 incentive offered by the government through the programme, citing a figure of at least RM60. This is because the programme’s three e-wallet partners are also offering additional perks of their own. In fact, GrabPay has expanded on its e-Tunai Rakyat initial additional incentives to encourage the take-up rate.
“This amount will certainly be multiplied and be able to contribute to total purchases and also economic growth,” Guan Eng added.
Aside from persuading more consumers to use e-wallets, the e-Tunai Rakyat programme is also vital in encouraging more businesses to adopt the technology. According to Guan Eng, an additional 16,182 traders and hawkers have registered for e-wallet platforms.
The launch of the e-Tunai Rakyat programme saw a success with 380,000 applications being made on the first day itself. It was also found that most Malaysians used the e-credit to pay for groceries, telecommunications charges, transportation, and food.
The programme is still ongoing, and eligible Malaysians can claim their RM30 digital incentive before the registration deadline on 9 March 2020. The e-credit must also be utilised by 14 March 2020 or it will be forfeited. All unclaimed or forfeited e-credit will then be returned to the government.
(Source: Malay Mail)
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