Sarawak Pay has become a popular e-wallet app among Sarawakians since its inception in November 2017.
As of 5 January this year, 190,400 users and 11,600 merchants have utilised the app, generating a total value of RM175 million through 3.6 million transactions.
The Sarawak Government through the Sarawak Multimedia Authority launched Sarawak Pay to digitise and drive Sarawak’s economy, as well as encourage the adoption of cashless payments among Sarawakians.
It is licenced by Bank Negara Malaysia and serves as a one-stop fintech platform that offers the technology and business tools for secure, fast and convenient e-wallet and digital payment transactions.
Those of you who use the app will be aware of its various services, including keeping your cash digitally; topping-up through online banking; and transferring funds.
Sarawak Pay also features the Instant Cashback Rewards, where you can earn cashback by shaking your phone or tapping the “Shake for Reward” button on the app upon payment.
Essentially, with Sarawak Pay you can purchase items, and settle your utility and local council bills through your mobile phone anytime, anywhere. All you need to do is scan and pay via the QR code from Sarawak Pay merchants or on your bills. In effect, the cashback value of paying your bills via Sarawak Pay is enjoyed by subscribers instantly. This is an attractive feature of the e-Wallet.
And if you include your bills in your bill subscription list on the app, you can receive reminders to pay them with the ‘My Subscribed Bill’ push notification.
As long as you spend with Sarawak Pay, you can gain cashback with any amount of spending. One can enjoy it any time in the future as it has no expiry date. This is different from the one-off RM30 cash back of the e-Tunai programme. In another words, Sarawak Pay ensures that the rakyat benefit on a continuous basis. So will the local economy.
Meanwhile, merchants who adopt Sarawak Pay as a payment method can receive and get notified on the exact amount of payment from their customers easily and efficiently.
They can also eliminate overhead cost incurred from handling cash, cards and cheque payment; ensure the safety and security of their finances with customer payment transferred directly to their bank account; and get advertised through Sarawak Pay’s marketing channel.
More than simplifying the process of receiving and making payments, Sarawak Pay is implemented in hopes of serving the underserved financially, and reducing the socio-economic divide between the urban and rural population.
Indeed, to ensure the inclusion of the rural people, Sarawak Pay, in collaboration with Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), facilitates online money transfer and top-up through Ejen Bank Berdaftar BSN (BSN authorised agents) in places where banking facilities such as automated teller machines (ATMs) are not accessible.
Services like these empower users and merchants from rural and urban areas to participate in the digital payment platform, thereby boosting their competitiveness and becoming part of the global digital economy.
So if you’ve yet to use Sarawak Pay, you can download it on Google Play and the App Store.
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Credit: In Collaboration with SarawakYES! - an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak - to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams.