Covid-19 is pushing Malaysian consumers to go cashless as it could reduce the spread of the virus, according to Tarvin Gill for
Mashable Southeast Asia.
According to Gill, Malaysia's finance minister Lim Guan Eng announced a government target in January 2020 for half of the 31.5 million population to go cashless. "He's probably getting that wish sooner than expected," writes Gill.
The article features an interview with Ignatius Ong, CEO of TNG Digital – a joint venture between Touch 'n Go, an electronic payment system, and Ant Financial, a fintech company. The Touch 'n Go eWallet – an electronic wallet used through a phone – is one of Malaysia's leading players in this market and has ten million users, writes Gill.
According to Gill, Ong says that ewallets are "one of the most effective payment methods or tools to help curb the spread of Covid-19 and flatten the curve ... The traditional payment ecosystem exposes countless people to the possible risk of a Covid-19 infection through physical contact or cash transfers. [But with ewallets] we can avoid physical contact entirely, [and] it's more hygienic, not to mention safer, as opposed to cash."
Ong says that he has seen an increase in cashless transactions as people are making bigger retail and grocery purchases. "There's a saying that 'old habits die hard', but the [Malaysia Movement Control Order] MCO gives a chance for Malaysians to really break out from these old habits of using cash and switch to ewallets," he says.
Mashable Southeast Asia article
Cashless in Egypt In Egypt, the push for a cashless society continues. EFG Hermes, a financial services corporation, has announced its partnership with fintech solutions provider PayTabs, launching PayTabs Egypt, according to a Trade Arabia article.
"PayTabs Egypt ... will carry out financial transactions remotely, quickly, and seamlessly – be it purchases, money collection or paying bills, online or offline – through a simple, user-friendly interface that onboards users in a few easy steps," it says.
This move is central to the corporation's financial inclusion strategy. Walid Hassouna, CEO of EFG Hermes Finance (EFG's non-banking financial arm) and group head of debt capital markets is quoted in the article. "As the world grapples with the effects of Covid-19 on daily financial interactions at brick-and-mortar facilities, we feel like this partnership will bring to market a platform that will facilitate financial interactions safely, securely and effectively, all while closing the gap between the formal economy and the unbanked," says Hassouna.
He continues: "Our goal is to empower cashless payments in every sphere of the Egyptian customer's life cycle ... this transformation, paired with today's technology and Egypt's thriving fintech culture, will allow the company to promote cashless payments that adapt to today’s ecommerce progression."
Trade Arabia article
A shift in Saudi Arabia Meanwhile, an Oxford Business Group article explores whether Covid-19 containment measures are accelerating Saudi Arabia's transition to a cashless society.
Since 6 April, citizens of Riyadh and other major urban centres in Saudi Arabia have been living under a curfew. They can leave their homes between 6am and 3pm, but only to purchase essential items within their residential area.
"While the Covid-19 pandemic is curbing economic activity overall, containment efforts are forcing a shift in how Saudi businesses, consumers and financial intermediaries interact, which could have lasting implications for the Kingdom's payment ecosystem," the article reports. Pre-Covid-19, as part of the
Vision 2030 agenda, one of the targets for Saudi Arabia was for non-cash transactions to constitute at least 70% of all payments by 2030, up from 36% in July 2019.
Regulators in Saudi Arabia have taken measures to encourage the use of cashless payments during the pandemic. Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the Kingdom's central bank, raised the monthly transfer limit for ewallets from SR10,000 to SR20,000 "to help consumers meet their spending needs through this relatively new payment option", the article reports. "The nascent ewallet market is expected to receive a boost from the increase in the monthly transfer limit. In turn, this should help to raise the volume of cashless transactions, as well as minimise physical contact between merchants, couriers and consumers during the lockdown period."
Oxford Business Group article
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