Malaysia to give away $110 million in drive to boost digital transactions

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will start a programme on Wednesday to hand out a total of 450 million ringgit ($110 million) to nearly half of its citizens, the government said, in a drive to increase digital transactions that will be a big boost for e-wallet companies.

The money will be distributed through Southeast Asian e-wallet operators Grab, backed by SoftBank Group ; telecom company Axiata’s Boost; and Touch ‘n Go, which is backed by banking group CIMB and China’s Ant Financial.

Every Malaysian aged 18 years and above and earning less than 100,000 ringgit a year will be eligible to receive a one-time shopping handout of 30 ringgit through one of the e-wallets, the finance minister said in a statement.