EXCLUSIVE: Khazanah says e-wallets agreed to e-Tunai Rakyat middleman

By Emmanuel Samarathisa

KHAZANAH Nasional Bhd is defending its selection of a third-party service provider that facilitated the setting up of a central database for the government’s e-Tunai Rakyat incentive, as industry sources complained e-wallet providers had to fork out “pricey” development fees to get the system up and running.

The central database was created to help e-wallet platforms Boost, GrabPay and Touch ‘n Go eWallet verify the legibility of their users.

This is because the incentive, which allows the government to credit RM30 in a respective e-wallet account, is meant for Malaysians earning an annual income of less than RM100,000.

“The implementation of the e-Tunai Rakyat programme facilitated by Khazanah covered multiple areas including establishing the necessary mechanisms, and processes and procedures, among other items. In this regard, mutual agreement on all aspects of the implementation was secured from the participating e-wallets after a comprehensive and in-depth consultation.

“This includes the selection and involvement of the relevant third-party service providers in the implementation, including their scope of work and costs to be incurred,” a Khazanah spokesperson tells FocusM.

Sources say e-wallet providers had to fork out an undisclosed sum as part of the “development fees”, with some calling the charge “ridiculous”, to facilitate the setting up of the central database which is connected to the Inland Revenue Board and the National Registration Department.

Further, grouses were aimed at the way Khazanah chose the vendor, with some highlighting that the company was directly handpicked by the sovereign wealth fund.

The e-Tunai Rakyat programme, launched on Jan 15, is a government initiative to encourage greater adoption of e-wallets.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced on Dec 19 that Khazanah had been picked to ensure the smooth rollout of the stimulus. Eligible Malaysians can only claim the incentive between Jan 15 and March 8 this year.

But despite the lure of free money being credited into a person’s respective e-wallet, less than 30% of eligible Malaysians have signed up for the scheme.

According to the latest data from the MoF, as of Jan 22, there had been 4.8 million applications received with 3.5 million approved. The government is targeting 15 million recipients.

That brings the total amount of money spent since the launch to RM105 mil, or 23%, from the RM450 mil allocation for the e-Tunai Rakyat scheme. – Jan 31, 2020

Clarification: In an earlier version, we wrote that Revenue Group Bhd was involved in the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative as the Khazanah vendor. Revenue has clarified that it is not the said vendor in the article.

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