• e-Duit to accelerate e-payment adoption with a 15% annual growth target over the next five years
• Five new participating financial institutions support iTEKAD, marking another phase of the social finance programme development

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today launched the e-Duit campaign and the official logo of the iTEKAD programme.

Speaking at the launch, BNM Deputy Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said, “BNM is fully committed to realising the strategic thrusts set out in the Financial Sector Blueprint (FSBP) 2022-2026. The e-Duit campaign and expansion of iTEKAD are a testament to our continued commitment. We aim to accelerate e-payment adoption among businesses and households by 15% per year and increase e-payment transactions per capita from 221 to 400 by 2026. At the same time, we welcome five new participating financial institutions to the iTEKAD programme. This will certainly broaden the outreach of this blended financing scheme to assist low-income microentrepreneurs.[1]”

With the tagline “Selamat, Senang, Segera” (Secure, Simple, Swift), e-Duit is an awareness campaign aimed at encouraging more Malaysians to adopt e-payments, and to do so safely. The campaign will seek to elevate public awareness and build user confidence in e-payment adoption, and in turn, support efforts to digitalise the Malaysian economy. Visit bnm.gov.my/eduit for more information.

First launched in 2020, iTEKAD is a blended social finance programme to support low-income microentrepreneurs. The programme provides business assets funded by social finance instruments (donations, social impact investment, zakat, and cash waqf), microfinancing, and structured training. The iTEKAD programme has shown promising results. As of August 2022, 95% of iTEKAD microentrepreneurs have successfully built online capabilities to enhance sales. The programme is expected to have benefitted over 4,000 low-income microentrepreneurs by 2023. Further information on iTEKAD is available at bnm.gov.my/social-finance.

Financial Literacy Month 2022

The e-Duit campaign and the official logo of the iTEKAD programme were launched at an exhibition held at IPC Shopping Centre Mutiara Damansara on 29 and 30 October 2022 in conjunction with the closing of Financial Literacy Month 2022 (FLM2022).

Organised by the Financial Education Network (FEN), FLM2022 is an annual flagship event to enhance the awareness of consumers on key financial issues and improve financial literacy among Malaysians. Throughout October, a mobile coach travelled to 61 locations across seven states, bringing free and independent financial education resources to over 20,000 people. These resources cover personal financial management, digital financial literacy, financial scam awareness and debt management advisory services. For more information, visit fenetwork.my.

[1] iTEKAD is currently offered by eight participating financial institutions, namely Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad, RHB Islamic Bank Berhad, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Rakyat), Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (Agrobank), and Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank).

BNM Deputy Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (Left 6); BNM Assistant Governor Dr. Norhana Endut (Left 5); accompanied by BNM Payment Services and Policy Department Director Qaiser Iskandar Anwarudin; BNM LINK dan Pejabat BNM Director Thomas Tan Koon Peng; Maybank Malaysia Head of Community Financial Services YBhg. Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan; Merchantrade Managing Director Ramasamy a/l K Veeran; HLISB CEO Jasani Abdullah; Bank Muamalat CEO Khairul Kamarudin; Grab Head of Payments and e-Commerce Tien Ming Lim; TNG Digital CEO Alan Ni; Paynet Director of Corporate Services Azleena Idris; Boost Merchant Business CEO Eric Chong Tiong Beng; ShopeePay Director and Country Head Sea Malaysia Terence Siau

BNM Deputy Governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (Left 6); BNM Assistant Governor Suhaimi Ali (Left 7); accompanied by BNM Financial Inclusion Department Director Nor Rafidz bin Nazri; CIMB Islamic Regional Head Nazzi Beck; SME Bank Group CSO YBhg. Datuk Dr. Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim; Bank Rakyat  CEO Dr. Mohammad Hanis Osman; Agrobank CEO YM Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah; BSN CEO Jay Khairil; RHB Islamic CEO YBhg. Dato' Adisadikin Ali; Bank Islam CEO Muazzam Mohamed; Bank Muamalat CEO Khairul Kamarudin