KUALA LUMPUR: The government is hopeful that more public transport operators will adopt a cashless payment mode.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said it would not only boost the efficiency of public transport services but also increase the number of commuters.
“Since last year, prime minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) had said that he wanted to see Malaysian society going cashless,” Loke said after launching the Go Cashless On Public Transport (GCOPT) campaign organised by Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL), here, today.
He said going cashless would also help fight corruption because transactions made using cashless or digital systems would be recorded.
“This is to raise capability in many areas as well as tackle corrupt practices because by going cashless, every transaction would be recorded,” he said.
The GCOPT campaign also involves ERL’s strategic partners such as Boost e-wallet, GrabPay, Mastercard, Maybank, Touch ‘n Go, UnionPay and Visa.
“We hope this cashless system could be expanded to all public transport networks,” he said.
“Malaysia is advanced and active in trying to use technology to better our transport systems and I hope that we can adopt this cashless system as soon as possible”.
Loke said the world was seeing a rise in the use of digital and mobile wallets via mobile technology development.
He said the number of electronic payment transactions in Malaysia had shown a sharp increase in the last two years, thanks to the booming e-commerce market.
“Even though it is a norm for people in our country to use cash, things are changing rapidly.
“The moment you introduce a cashless system with some sort of incentive or savings, people will shift.
“ERL and its cashless payment solution partners are an excellent example of how private enterprises can form successful partnerships with the government.
“I believe that these partnerships will continue to be the way forward and complement the government’s commitment to improving the quality of public transport service and overall customer experience,” he said.
Loke said Malaysia still had a long way to go to achieve the government’s target of increasing rail-based ridership modal share.
He said it was around 25 per cent at the moment and the government aimed to raise it to 40 per cent by 2030.