Malaysia has begun a country-wide project to slowly replace automated teller machine (ATM) cards with chip-based smart cards to promote cashless transactions.
The project is due to be completed next year. The smart cards are known as Payment Multi-Purpose Cards (PMPC) and will be used at car parks, toll booths, public phones, convenience stores and closed communities.
Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara, expects all financial institutions will be replacing their ATM issued cards with the PMPC cards from May this year.
Consumers have the choice of whether or not to replace their cards. Managing director Mohd Hata Robani of Malaysian Electronic Payment System said PMPC’s three applications- the e-Purse, the Debit e-Pos and ATM facilities – would begin pilot programmes before being introduced to the public.
