These measures are to accelerate the pace of the country’s migration to e-payments, in a move to reduce the use of cash and cheques in the financial system.
According to BNM Deputy Governor Muhammad Ibrahim, an additional 50,000 point-of-sale terminals would be deployed in 2015, targeting the lower-tier merchants to promote the acceptance and usage of debit cards among consumers.
With 45 million debit cards for a population of 30 million, Malaysia is well-positioned to migrate from a high dependency on cash usage to the cost-effective debit cards.
Based on a study conducted by the central bank, the total cost incurred by the banking industry, the business community and BNM in cash handling and management, was estimated at around RMB 4.8 billion in 2012.
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