PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians aged 18 and above, with an annual income of RM100,000 and below, will be able to apply for the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative beginning 8am tomorrow (Jan 15).
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that each approved application comes with free RM30 in spending money.
The application period ends on March 9.
"After they have received the RM30 through one of the three e-wallet operators, namely Grab, Boost and Touch ‘n Go eWallet, they have until March 14 to spend it.
"After that, whatever that is not used will (expire)," Lee said at the launch of the e-Tunai Rakyat programme here, today.
The minister also said that up to 15 million Malaysians will benefit from the government initiative.
"All eligible Malaysians are free to choose any one of the three e-wallet operators as the preferred e-wallet to receive their RM30 free money in.
"The e-wallet operators will provide additional incentives in conjunction with the government-funded RM30. This means eligible Malaysians will get (more than just the) RM30 free money," he said.
Lim added that e-Tunai Rakyat recipients could spend their money with more than eight million merchants.
The e-Tunai Rakyat initiative is designed to widen the options of digital payments in the country, and encourage digital payment adoption among Malaysian consumers and merchants, particularly small retail businesses.
"Therefore, we strongly encourage our Malaysian merchants, hawkers and retailers to register with one or all three of the e-wallet providers so that they can benefit from the RM450 million e-Tunai Rakyat programme," said the minister.
Lim said the initiative is part of the government's commitment to fulfil the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 agenda by reducing barriers to digitalisation and improving financial inclusivity in the country.
"To ensure the initiative hastens Malaysia's digitalisation process, the RM30 must be spent starting from tomorrow until March 14," he reiterated.