BERA – Government allocations for cashless payments, such as the Retail Sector Digitalisation Initiative (ReDI) implemented by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, will help spread the use of e-wallets in rural areas, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“This will reduce the digital economy gap between urban and rural areas, particularly in the retail sector, which involves many small traders and hawkers,” the prime minister said in his constituency here as reported by Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal.
Ismail Sabri said this when inaugurating the launch of the national-level ReDI initiative as well as the Malaysia Sales Programme at Dataran Kerayong, near here, this morning.
He also announced special allocations for e-payments for Bera constituents.
“In conjunction with the launch of ReDi today, e-wallet incentives worth RM20 are provided to 1,000 people, in addition to e-wallets of RM100 for 1,500 selected target groups from each state constituency under the Bera parliamentary seat,” he said.
As for the Malaysia Sales Programme, he said RM2 million has been allocated for e-vouchers for the sale, which starts on August 30 and runs till December 31.
The e-vouchers can be downloaded from the ministry’s MySales Tracker app and are aimed at promoting the use of cashless payments.
At the event, Ismail Sabri also announced that the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s first “smart office” in Malaysia is equipped with the latest facilities, and will begin operating in Bera from January next year.
On other measures by the government to promote cashless payments, he said the RM300 million allocation for the ePemula programme will benefit some two million youth nationwide.
The e-cash credit programme for youth aged 18 to 20 and those who are full-time students, is also aimed at advancing the country’s digitisation agenda in payment methods, the Bera MP said in his constituency in Pahang today.
The RM300 million allocation was announced under Budget 2022.
Through ePemula, eligible youths and full-time students at local higher education institutions can register to receive a one-off RM150 through four e-wallets, namely, BigPay, GrabPay, ShopeePay and the Touch ’n Go eWallet. – The Vibes, August 27, 2022