All facilities under the Ministry of Health (MOH), including hospitals and clinics, will only accept cashless payments from 1 October 2022. Cash payments, however, will still be allowed for customers who do not have a bank account or access to cashless payment modes.

In a circular, the secretary-general of MOH Datuk Harjeet Singh said that customers may perform cashless payments via e-payment modes, including debit cards, credit cards, and e-wallets. This move is in line with the MOH’s anti-corruption plan and the Malaysia Digital Economic Blueprint 2021.

“The implementation of cashless payment at Health Ministry facilities is expected to bring positive outcomes. Among them are reducing the risk of leakages of public money, and improving the efficiency of revenue management at the counter, which is faster, easier, and safer,” Datuk Harjeet further stated, adding that the move will also mitigate the risk of Covid-19 infection at payment counters.

Datuk Harjeet urged all state health departments to take the necessary action to ensure a seamless operation of cashless payments at their respective facilities. “These include identifying pusat tanggungjawab (PTJs) for the implementation of cashless payment using terminal-point-of-sale (TPOS) and DuitNow; identifying the number of counters that need to be equipped with TPOS, and ensuring the person-in-charge at the counter is trained to use TPOS,” he stated, adding that the MOH expects 95% of transactions at its hospitals and clinics to be cashless by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Melaka health and anti-drug committee chairman Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh commented that cash will still be accepted at all government health facilities in Melaka come 1 October. This is to ease senior citizens to make payments at hospitals and clinics. 

“We will not make it compulsory for cashless payments, especially at the rural health facilities, as many elderly folks have no access to debit cards, credit cards, and e-wallets. The state will maintain the conventional way of making payments as well as the cashless platform,” Dr Muhamad Akmal remarked. 

(Sources: New Straits Times, The Star [1, 2]) 

• TAGS:
• Cashless Payments
• Datuk Harjeet Singh
• Debit Cards
• Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh
• DuitNow
• DuitNow QR
• Ministry of Health