A total of six million Malaysians have successfully claimed their MYR30 e-wallet incentives under the e-Tunai Rakyat programme, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told the Malay Mail today.
Under the initiative that kicked off on 15 January, the government had approved six million applicants as of February 2020, translating to MYR180 million funds having been disbursed.
The minister earlier reported that MYR10 million worth of e-wallet transactions were recorded on the first day alone, with 320,000 approved applicants. Most recipients spent their incentive on groceries, telecommunications, transport and food expenses.
The government has allocated MYR450 million for the initiative that aims to spur the adoption of e-wallets and digital payments, impacting 15 million qualified Malaysians.
The initiative involves the three biggest e-wallet providers in the country— Touch ‘n Go, Grab and Boost, handpicked by the government.
Malaysians aged 18 years old and above, earning less than MYR100,000 annually are eligible to receive MYR30 each through the e-wallet provider of their choice.
The e-wallet credit can be used to purchase goods and services available through respective e-wallet platforms.
The initiative runs until 14 March 2020, but qualified Malaysians have until 9 March to claim the incentive.
The minister also said that the ministry may consider increasing the initial MYR450 million allocation should the number of applicants increase.
Aside from the MYR30 incentive from the government, e-wallet providers are throwing in additional perks to entice Malaysians to claim their e-Tunai Rakyat incentives from their platforms.
Have you claimed your e-Tunai? If yes, from which e-wallet provider? If you haven’t, what is stopping you?
