Company works to make cashless transactions more widespread

Leading the charge: Manirajah and his wife T. Uma Devi are spearheading the work on a prepaid card that can be used to to purchase items from vending machines.

Since the first currency notes and coins were issued in 1897, Malaysia’s payment system has evolved from the traditional cash-and-carry way of life to using cheques, debit and credit cards to Internet banking.

There is research that shows becoming a cashless society through the migration to electronic payments could bring potential cost savings of about 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually.