by Xavier Kong
WITH phrases like “the new normal” and “we cannot go back to what was” floating around, the message that Malaysian lifestyles will have to change in the following months is slowly but surely seeping in.
Touch ‘n Go eWallet CEO Ignatius Ong tells FocusM that the eWallet is ready to help Malaysians with that transition, especially on the social distancing and hygiene points.
“There are several benefits to using cashless transactions such as our e-wallet, most important of which is that it is safer,” says Ong.
He clarifies that this is due to both users and vendors being able to avoid handling physical cash in their transactions, thus minimising human contact. Considering the fact that paying with an e-wallet involves either the consumer scanning a QR code or the merchant scanning a code on the consumer’s phone, a distance is observed.
Furthermore, topping up eWallets is a simple matter of going through an online banking transaction, which means users can easily reload their e-wallets without having to physically go to an ATM.
In this way, e-wallets can also play their own role in flattening the curve and combating the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping the globe. Ong shares that Touch ‘n Go eWallet’s network of over 10 million users also receive updates and reminders through the app, as well as through its website and social media pages, to ensure their safety and hygiene throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
“We also curate promotions to encourage online shopping, as well as contactless and cashless offline shopping as measures to help flatten the curve. We have also partnered with food delivery merchants, offering cashbacks or free deliveries as incentives for our users to encourage food deliveries, minimising human contact and helping people to stay at home,” says Ong.
At the same time, Touch ‘n Go eWallet has reached out to local non-government organisations (NGOs) in need of funds by offering its platform for online donations to support NGO operations.
“We onboarded them to our payment network to provide them a quicker, easier and safer method of collecting donations in these trying times. Best of all, the funds go directly to them, and it is a sustainable, long-term solution that complements the traditional method of donations,” explains Ong.
Another measure taken by the company is to approach micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and e-bazaar traders to enable a cashless payment method via its platform. Ong believes this will further encourage Malaysians to make e-wallets a preferred means of transacting, and promises a formal announcement of the company’s Ramadan initiatives soon.
Aiding MSMEs
Speaking of MSMEs, the MCO period has been a trying time for many businesses, especially when taking into account that MSMEs form 98.5% of the businesses in Malaysia, and form the backbone of the local economy.
Ong understands this, and notes that the company has been a strong supporter of MSMEs, and names several initiatives launched by the company to aid these businesses, such as a new venture with Beep by Storehub, scheduled to go live this month.
“Storehub helps retail and restaurant business owners automate their growth and include offerings such as an e-commerce platform, a QR code-powered loyalty cashback programme, and food delivery services,” he explains, adding that this allows F&B businesses to go online to reach out to more customers, as well as schedule delivery services.
He also notes that cashless payments are also an opportunity for MSMEs to tap into, which can further optimise digitalisation, especially the digitalisation of the payment processes of MSMEs.
Moving forward
When FocusM last spoke to Ong, before the pandemic had made its way across the globe, the focus of Touch ‘n Go eWallet was to expand its user and merchant base. So how has the pandemic affected these efforts?
According to Ong, the MCO period has served as a time for Malaysians to experience contactless and cashless payments, and hopes that Malaysians will continue to use e-wallet payments as the MCO is lifted in future.
“In the coming years, our goal is to become more than just a payment enabler, and introduce new features to elevate the lifestyles of Malaysians. This year, we will further diversify and expand our services to look at being a provider of financial suites, including asset management products,” says Ong.
Wither e-Tunai?
All this talk about Malaysians using e-wallets as a primary method of payment has also sparked memories of a certain initiative by the previous government, which now seems long ago and far away at this point in the MCO.
This, of course, refers to the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative, announced in Budget 2020 by then-Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and launched on Jan 13, which involved Malaysians being able to apply for a one-off RM30 from one of three e-wallets to encourage the use of cashless transactions.
By the end of the initiative, which ended on March 14, a scant four days before the MCO started, the previous administration notes that the database contained eight million Malaysians, which accounts for over 50% of the capacity intended by the e-Tunai Rakyat programme.
When asked about this, Ong shares that Touch ‘n Go eWallet had experienced exponential growth through the initiative, noting that 70% of the eight million Malaysians who had claimed their e-Tunai Rakyat had done so through the company’s app.
“We saw a 10-fold growth rate among in-app use cases. This, along with the fact that 70% of the eight million Malaysians who had claimed their e-Tunai Rakyat had done so through Touch ‘n Go eWallet, is a reflection of how successful our e-Tunai Rakyat campaign has been for the company,” says Ong.
However, since the initiative ended, there has been no further updates from the new administration, helmed by current Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, which had taken power on March 1.
When asked if he thinks there will be another phase of the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative, Ong shares that “it is simply hard to gauge, especially when a lot of things are uncertain right now due to Covid-19.”
“But should there be a continuation of the initiative, we definitely welcome it with open arms, and we will be prepared for it,” he says. – April 21, 2020
