UiTM to go cashless and cardless

SUNGAI BULOH: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) is poised to become the biggest cashless and cardless campus in Malaysia.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said all on-campus transactions will be conducted using the Boost mobile payment application.

“I had said in my New Year message that all campuses in Malaysia must be smart campuses by year-end,” he said after launching Cashless Campus@UiTM yesterday.

Idris said it is the current trend for transactions to be made via an app.

“Even renting a bicycle in Beijing is now cashless,” he noted.

Idris said all public institutions of higher learning must adopt the smart campus initiative.

He believed that private institutions would follow suit.

Boost is now being used at UiTM’s Shah Alam, Dengkil, Puncak Perdana, Puncak Alam and Sungai Buloh campuses, with all its other campuses to do so by the end of the year.

The initiative is a strategic partnership between Axiata Group Berhad and UiTM.

Axiata Group president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said the company has a vision – that all transactions in the country will go cashless in the future.

UiTM vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Hassan Said said retail transactions at UiTM will be done via the e-wallet app, which will be used by about 200,000 members of the UiTM family.

“The application will cover simple purchases, cash transfers, and buying prepaid mobile phone credit and digital vouchers for items (from merchants) like books, study aids, games, music, videos, tickets as well as food and drinks, at cheaper prices,” he added.

He also said 60 merchants at various Selangor UiTM campuses have already enabled payments via the app.