The e-Tunai Rakyat initiative is off to a flying start. According to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, e-wallet transactions valued at MYR10 million were recorded on the first day of the cashless initiative.
“As of 10PM Wednesday (15 January), there were 380,000 applications for the e-Tunai Rakyat on the selected e-wallet service providers, and 320,000 of them have been approved,” Lim told The Star.
“We expect more to come on board and adopt e-wallet and apply for the initiative before it ends later,” he added.
The e-Tunai Rakyat programme officially kicked off on 15 January, involving the three biggest e-wallet providers in the country—Touch ‘n Go, Grab and Boost.
The government has allocated MYR450 million for the initiative designed to spur the growth of e-wallet and boost the digital economy.
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. The current initiative will impact 15 million Malaysians.
Earlier, Grab announced that its user growth has increased by 6X as Malaysians jumped on board through the e-Tunai Rakyat programme.
Aside from the MYR30 from the government, e-wallet providers also throw in additional perks to entice users to claim e-Tunai Rakyat via their platforms.
Have you claimed your e-Tunai? How was your experience and how do you feel about going cashless?
