Sarawak Will Be The First State In Malaysia To Have Its Own Cashless Payment System
Bank Negara has approved the payment system, which is set to be released in 2018.
By John Lim — 17 Oct 2017, 12:52 PM
Malaysia is working towards becoming a cashless society
With the recent collaboration between Alipay and Touch 'n Go, the nation is taking some significant steps in the cashless movement.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said last week Malaysia will become a cashless society by 2050.
To make this a reality, every state has a part to play in educating and exposing the rakyat to the idea of cashless payment
Sarawak has taken upon itself to develop its own cashless system called Sarawak Pay, which will allow its citizens to use it to pay for all local government services.
Sarawak first announced plans to develop the system in September
"We are going to establish our own (digital payment) platform called Sarawak Pay, and this will enable us to have e-wallet or e-pay which can be linked to our neighbours like Indonesia, Thailand and of course China (Alipay)," Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said as quoted by The Borneo Post.
The system will be developed with the help of Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Media reports over the weekend noted that Bank Negara has approved the digital payment system.
The system will be implemented at state government departments and agencies next year
Sarawakians will be able to pay for things like land rent and assessment rates. Sarawak Pay will also be integrated with F&B outlets under the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation.
A testing phase will be conducted in Kuching before it is rolled out state-wide
“The approval by Bank Negara will enable us to have our own application, and for a start, for all state government services, the people can pay through Sarawak Pay, including for paying land rent, and assessment rate,” Abang Johari added.