In today's digital era, we do almost everything digitally. From paying bills to shopping, our society is now going cashless for the convenience, safety, and stability. It is so good to know that the cashless transformation is happening at Sekinchan, Selangor. It is the First Cashless Kampung in Malaysia!
As part of ongoing efforts to provide access to financial services in non-urban areas, Hong Leong Bank Berhad (“HLB” or the “Bank”) has formed a partnership with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“PayNet”) to roll out the first ‘Project Cashless Kampung’ at Sekinchan, Selangor, the first non-urban area to be cashless enabled.
In fact, ‘Project Cashless Kampung’ project aims to champion financial inclusion in the small town by ensuring all 24,000 Sekinchan residents have access to full-fledged banking facilities and services and, empowering 800 small business owners to digitalise their businesses through the acceptance of cashless and contactless payments.
Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB said the partnership with PayNet to transform Sekinchan into the first cashless kampung in Malaysia, is in line with the Bank’s ‘Digital at the Core’ strategy and ESG values to drive both digital and financial inclusion in the communities the Bank operates in.
“While there is a clear shift towards digital and cashless payment methods in Malaysia, there is still a lower rate of adoption in rural areas which this initiative aims to address as part of the Bank’s effort to drive financial inclusion in the country. We also believe that financial inclusion does not simply stop at cashless penetration and adoption. It also involves increasing access to fair banking opportunities as well as financial education for young digital natives to nurture money-and digital-smart future generations so that no one is left behind in this digital economy.