PETALING JAYA: With a study showing that 79% of Malaysians turned to digital or epayments during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bank Negara has launched the e-Duit campaign.
The campaign highlights the aspect of education to protect the money of epayment users.
Its deputy governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said with the slogan “Selamat, Senang, Segera” (safe, easy and quick), the campaign would run continuously for five years in line with the country’s Financial Sector Blueprint (FSBP) 2022-2026.
“We aim to accelerate epayment adoption among businesses and households by 15% per year for the next five years,” he said.
“In line with this aspiration, Bank Negara and the payments industry will ensure readiness and access to various epayment instruments, such as payment cards, online payment and a competitive QR code,” he said yesterday.
He was speaking at the launch of the campaign and the unveiling of the official iTEKAD programme logo here.
Abdul Rasheed said as a result of the joint efforts between the government and the payments industry, the use of epayment had expanded in both urban and rural areas.“Based on the Global Findex 2021 report by the World Bank, it is estimated that 79% of adults in Malaysia used digital or epayments during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To further benefit consumers, efforts are being expedited to implement cross-border payment facilities.”
Abdul Rasheed, reported Bernama, also announced that five new financial institutions had joined the iTEKAD programme, making the total number eight so far.
First launched in 2020, iTEKAD is a “blended social finance programme to support low-income microentrepreneurs”, according to a statement by Bank Negara in conjunction with the launch.
The five new members are RHB Islamic Bank Bhd, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Rakyat), Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd (Agrobank) and the Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Bhd (SME Bank).
“The iTEKAD programme has produced a performance that it can be proud of, with 95% of its entrepreneurs having implemented online sales and 48% having successfully generated monthly sales of over RM4,000,” he noted.
