“WHO carry cash these days? Hahaha … mostly all use eWallet.”.
“Cash withdrawal from ATM is a thing of the past. I remember taking cash from ATM two years ago after which I don’t need it anymore.”
“I’ve forgotten how an ATM looks like.”
“Even the roadside nasi lemak stalls already use QR la.”
Such is the overwhelming Facebook reaction from presumably millennial and Gen Z Malay Mail readers to news that bank customers will no longer be charged the RM1 fee for interbank ATM and Smart Recycler Machine (SRM) withdrawals beginning July 1.
The initiative involving all banks in Malaysia allows unlimited free withdrawals at more than 14,000 machines nationwide.
“Undertaken in collaboration with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), the imitative reflects the banking industry’s on-going commitment to making financial services more accessible, inclusive and affordable for its customers,” the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) pointed out in a statement.
“The banking industry recognises that cash remains an important and essential means of payment for many Malaysians in managing their daily lives.”
As to her poser “who still uses cash? 😅😅😅”, a commenter was ticked off for trying to be smart Alec given a wide array of places or business transactions still require paper notes as legal tender.
They range from rural locales where “no cash, you 😭 as cards tak layan (not accepted)” to even “massage centres with happy endings so wives cannot detect” as mooted by one commenter.
In fact, it was pointed out that “not all places have QR” as cash is still very much preferred not only in rural Sabah and Sarawak but also at mamak joints, kedai Aceh (Indonesian-run sundry shops) or even among (food) hawkers.
As one presumably Gen X commenter groused, he finds it difficult “to understand how people perceive everyone prefer and will use cashless payment only just because this is the trend now”.
“My first choice is still cash and I had helped cashless hardcore fans in the past with cash payment because their e-wallet just happened to malfunction at the wrong time,” he quipped.
One farsighted commenter hit the nail on the head with his observation that “cash is still king in Malaysia given money flow can go undetected” unlike e-wallet or QR code which are sure to leave a permanent digital trail.
“Most unclean money still using cash, give it to casino turn back into clean money [sic]’,” he implied with another netizen echoing in the affirmative that “casino is a kind of a private owned ‘bank’ that is superb for cleaning money as squeaky as it can hahahah”.
At the end of the day, kudos to National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE Malaysia) for having campaigned “under the hot sun, going out to meet Malaysians and collecting signatures from the public to show support for the call to abolish the RM1 ATM fee”.
“This struggle was not just about RM1 but about fairness and reducing the burden on the people, especially those affected by the rising cost of living,” recounted one commenter.
“Every signature, every support and every voice from Malaysians played an important role in bringing about this change.” – June 16, 2026
