For the 1,000 merchants expected at this year’s Selangor Ramadan Festival, the choice of payment method may determine whether they leave with stacks of ringgit notes or a clean digital ledger. A new partnership between MBSB Bank Bhd and PKNS Real Estate Sdn Bhd (Prec) aims to push those merchants firmly toward the latter.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on March 7, 2023, to bring cashless transactions to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Prec-owned properties across Selangor. The deal covers merchants at SACC Mall and the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam and Bangi. But the real test starts at the Selangor Ramadan Festival 2023, running from March 5 to April 21, 2023 — a sales event that has already expanded from 700 merchants in previous years to 1,000 this time.
Those merchants will be offered accounts with MBSB Bank and access to real-time retail payment platforms, including DuitNow. The pitch from both sides is straightforward: go digital or get left behind.
Datuk Nor Azam M Taib, group CEO of MBSB Bank, said the partnership gives business owners a chance to grow by using real-time retail payment platforms. He argued that cashless transactions save operational expenses and streamline financial management. “In addition to being always available,” he said, “cashless transactions provided by RPP can save operational expenses and aid in streamlining the financial management process.” He added that digital payment is simpler, safer, and a preferred method for today’s users.
The stakes are concrete. For a small trader at a Ramadan bazaar, handling cash means counting notes at closing, making change, and dealing with the risk of theft or loss. A digital system removes those steps. It also leaves a record — something tax authorities and lenders like to see. If the Ramadan festival works as a showcase, the model could spread to other Prec properties and beyond.
Fakru Radzi Ab Ghani, CEO of Prec, said the digitalization of Prec establishments may help draw in additional customers. That is the carrot. The stick is that cash-only businesses are increasingly invisible to a generation that pays with phones and cards. A merchant who cannot accept DuitNow may simply lose the sale.
The MoU signing itself — a ceremony with two CEOs and a piece of paper — is the easy part. The hard work comes at the stalls. MBSB Bank has to convince 1,000 merchants to open accounts and actually use them. Prec has to ensure the infrastructure works. And the merchants have to decide whether the switch is worth the hassle.
Nor Azam framed it as an opportunity, not an imposition. “The digitalization of Prec establishments may help draw in additional customers,” he said. That is a bet on changing behavior — of merchants and of shoppers. If it pays off, the Ramadan festival becomes more than a seasonal market. It becomes a pilot for how Selangor’s small businesses handle money.
If it does not, the cash stays in the drawer, and the 1,000 merchants keep doing what they have always done. Either way, the outcome will tell other property owners and banks whether this kind of partnership is worth repeating.
