With more and more Malaysians now starting to use cashless payments, you'd wonder when the government will decide it's time to seriously consider adopting the system.

Well, if all goes according to plan, we could be a cashless payment society by next year.

For the convenience of the rakyat

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that the government will aim to go cashless by 2022 during the virtual launch of the Malaysia Digital Economy (MyDigital) blueprint last Friday.

The blueprint – which will guide the growth trajectory of Malaysia’s digital economy – spells out the efforts and initiatives required for the development.

As one of the numerous initiatives forwarded in the blueprint, Tan Sri Muhyiddin said that all government ministries and agencies will soon provide cashless payment options for the convenience of the people.

“The public sector will strive to make cashless payments as the preferred payment option come year 2022,” he said during his speech.

Malaysians have been increasingly growing in favour of digital payments since 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the adoption of cashless transactions, along with the acceptance of digital technology.

“The role of digital technology has been evident since a year ago when COVID-19 challenged the people’s ability to continue life as usual.

"It has never been clearer that technology is a convenient tool for advancement in the best of times, and an essential tool of survival during the most challenging of crises,” Tan Sri Muhyiddin further emphasised.