Penang: Penang emerged as the champion of the National Digital/Cashless Payment Usage Performance Award under the National Cashless Boleh 5.0 Campaign Programme after recording a cashless payment transaction rate of 99.40 per cent in the public sector.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the recognition was announced during a courtesy visit by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) delegation together with Payments Network Malaysia Berhad (PayNet) to Penang State Secretary Datuk Seri Zulkifli Long, at the State Secretary's Office in Komtar.
The State Secretary's Office stated that Penang outperformed Kedah, Selangor, and Malacca to emerge as the champion of the programme, thereby strengthening its position as one of the leading states in digital transformation in public service delivery.
"This success reflects the strong synergy involving the MOF, PayNet, and the state government in expanding the use of cashless payments, driven by the continuous efforts of the Local Government Division (BKT) as the main coordinator of the state government's participation in this programme. The state government through the BKT has successfully initiated various initiatives to empower cashless payments, continuously monitored the implementation performance, and ensured the campaign targets were achieved excellently," according to the statement.
The statement added that the strategic collaboration involving the state government, MOF, and PayNet, which has been established since 2022, has also become a catalyst for efforts to strengthen the digital payment ecosystem in Penang. The collaboration helps improve the efficiency of public service delivery and encourages the use of cashless transactions among state government agencies.
Earlier, MOF Strategic Financial Control and Corporate Division undersecretary Ghazali Hizam, who led the delegation, presented the award and certificate of appreciation for the Cashless Boleh 5.0 Campaign Programme to Zulkifli. The award presentation ceremony was also witnessed by Penang Deputy State Secretary (Development) Datuk Mohamed Abdul Rahman, State Treasurer Mazni Aryanti Mohamed Amin, and the Local Government Division secretary Muhamad Husni Mahmud.