MBSB Bank and PKNS Real Estate Push Cashless Payments for Selangor Ramadan Festival
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MBSB Bank and PKNS Real Estate Target Cashless Payments for Selangor Ramadan Festival SMEs
The Selangor Ramadan Festival 2023 is expected to host 1,000 merchants, a rise from the 700 vendors that participated in earlier editions. Running from March 5 to April 21, the event will serve as the first large‑scale test of a new cashless initiative launched by MBSB Bank Bhd and PKNS Real Estate Sdn Bhd (Prec).
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on March 7, 2023, agreeing to introduce real‑time retail payment platforms to small and medium‑sized enterprises operating in Prec‑owned premises across Selangor, specifically at SACC Mall and the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam and Bangi. Under the arrangement, merchants taking part in the festival will be offered MBSB Bank accounts and access to digital payment channels such as DuitNow. The partnership’s message is straightforward: adopt digital payments or risk being left behind.
Datuk Nor Azam M Taib, group chief executive officer of MBSB Bank, said the deal 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.
He was quoted as saying, “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. For a small trader at a Ramadan bazaar, handling cash means counting notes at closing, making change and facing the risk of theft or loss. A digital system removes those steps and creates a transaction record that tax authorities and lenders find useful.
If the festival proves successful as a showcase, the model could be extended to other Prec properties and beyond. Fakru Radzi Ab Ghani, chief executive officer of Prec, said the digitalization of Prec establishments may help draw in additional customers – the “carrot” of the initiative.
The “stick” is that cash‑only businesses are increasingly invisible to a generation that pays with phones and cards; a merchant unable to accept DuitNow may simply lose the sale. While the MoU signing ceremony – a gathering of the two CEOs and a piece of paper – is the easy part, the real work begins at the stalls. MBSB Bank must persuade the 1,000 merchants to open accounts and actually use them.
Prec has to ensure the supporting infrastructure functions correctly. Merchants, meanwhile, must decide whether the switch is worth the hassle.
