MCO best time to achieve cashless society goal

The implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infection since March 18, has affected the people's daily routine in every aspect of life including shopping transactions.

The movement restriction has forced the public to practice the cashless transaction method and as time goes by, they are getting familiar with it.

Hence, the MCO which has been extended until May 12 is seen as the best time to achieve the government's intention to create a cashless society.

Although some people prefer to make payment in cash, many are getting familiar with the e-payment for all sort of things such as paying for utility bills, food, insurance renewals and so on.

A senior lecturer at Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Puncak Perdana campus in Shah Alam, Selangor Dr Mohd Nizam Yunus said online purchasing was currently on its peak as the public was concern about the possibility of banknotes being contaminated with COVID-19 virus as well as to comply with the MCO guidelines by staying at home.

"I do agree that MCO is the best time to educate the public on the benefits of online payments. I think one of the new normal resulted from this pandemic is doing things online particularly financial transactions.

"We could also see a trend of home-based traders receiving payments via Internet banking transactions, this has shown us that there is a strong trust between buyers and sellers during this MCO period," he told Bernama here.

However, he also highlighted that to achieve the cashless society goal, it had to be supported by a stable Internet connectivity.

Another senior lecturer from the same faculty, Dr Muhamad Khairulnizam Zaini said online purchasing and e-payment was a positive trend that will lead to the evolution of a cashless society in shaping a modern and more efficient country.

"Cashless transaction is a common practice in many developed countries. Hence, following the trend is a good start for Malaysia in our pursuit to become a developed and competitive country.

"For the time being, I believe that the people are familiarising themselves with the cashless transaction in their daily activities," he said.

"Most customers are using the online transaction to pay for their order... some still prefer cash payment, which involves about 30 to 40 per cent of customers," he said.

-- BERNAMA