Malaysia is at a turning point in the migration to electronic payments, especially with the RM1.8 billion (US$560 million) allocation under Budget 2014 for the implementation of the second phase of the high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Deputy Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim. He said
Malaysia is at a turning point in the migration to electronic payments, especially with the RM1.8 billion (US$560 million) allocation under Budget 2014 for the implementation of the second phase of the high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Deputy Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim.
He said the central bank has called on banks to widen access points for the public to conduct electronic payments, including via ATM networks.
"While Malaysia's population stands at 29.7 million, there are 41 million ATM cards with debit application that can be used to make purchases at merchant outlets.
"This provides an opportunity for banks and businesses to improve the coverage of PoS terminals to facilitate the use of the debit card as a means to reduce the need for cash and to increase tourist spending at more merchant outlets," said Muhammad.
BNM has set targets in the Financial Sector Blueprint to reduce the number of checks processed per year.
There are also targets to increase the number of PoS terminals to 25 units per 1,000 inhabitants from 9 in 2012 and to increase electronic payment transactions per capita to 200 by 2020 from 56 in 2012.
Research has suggested that a successful migration to electronic payments has the potential to drive further efficiency gains and cost savings of about 1% of gross domestic product annually.