THE cashless transaction initiative, which is among Penang Island City Council’s (MBPP) smart initiatives, is getting good response from the public.
According to MBPP councillor Wong Yuee Harng, out of the 637,369 transactions recorded last year, 343,812 were through cashless.
“This means MBPP has recorded 53.64 percent of cashless transactions in 2020 which shows that people have started to embrace the changes positively.
“The switch from the conventional way to the digital platform is necessary and it is certainly needed especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are able to minimise the need for physical contact between the customers and MBPP officers,” said Wong during an interview with Buletin Mutiara recently.
Wong said the MBPP is still providing its services through face to face counters, catering specifically to the needs of the senior citizens, the disabled and those who do not own a smart phone.
“MBPP Kiosk that receives payment via cash and cheque is still available at Komtar but recently, we have also installed kiosks that run on a fully cashless system.
“Earlier on March 8, state Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo had launched the cashless kiosks over here at Komtar.
“The smart kiosks allow customers to use bank cards (credit/debit) and e-wallet to make their payment.
“MBPP Smart Kiosk is also available at the MBPP’s One Stop Center in Esplanade and the SPICE Convention Centre,” he added.
Apart from that, Wong stated that throughout the month of January this year, a total of 86,995 (82.35%) cashless transactions were recorded.
“The transactions recorded for cash and cheque were 15,053 (14.25%) and 3,598 (3.41%) respectively.
“Meanwhile, for February, 80,693 transactions involving cashless payment and 25,367 of cash transaction were recorded.
“The council will keep upgrading the cashless transaction system so as to propel the state to become a smart city,” said Wong.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Wong Sook Shyan