NCIA, Kiplepay in cashless drive to aid low-income communities

• Financial aid efforts driven by digitalising merchants and clinics
• To provide financial aid to women in households with no fix income 

Kiplepay Sdn Bhd has been awarded an outreach programme by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) to provide a range of cashless solutions to poor and hardcore poor communities in the northern states, particularly the low-income women representing households with no fixed income to manage and accommodate their families’ expenses.

In a statement, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Packet Berhad, said the objective of this programme is to address the cost of living by providing financial aid to women representing households and their families, using cashless cards as opposed to cash handouts. 

In recognising the pivotal role that mothers play in raising a family, NCIA, in collaboration with the state governments of Perlis, Perak and Kedah have introduced the Kasih Ibu programme in Malaysia’s northern region, it said. 

The company said the cashless solution provided by Kiplepay features a physical prepaid card linked to a Kiple e-wallet account, enabling users to access financial aid provided by the government,

It also acts as a payment terminal and merchant portal that allow merchants to perform cashless transactions.

Ricky Lew, acting chief executive officer of Kiplepay, said the financial assistance given to the underprivileged and hardcore poor communities complements the government’s objective to reduce their cost of living. 

“Moreover, as it is done through Kiple’s suite of cashless solutions, we can ensure a safe, contactless and seamless digital experience for all community members – from recipients to merchants to healthcare clinics,” claimed Lew.

Activated since August 2021, recipients of the Kasih Ibu Darul Ridzuan and Kasih Ibu Perlis programmes are provided RM250 monthly via the cashless card, which can be used at 182 small and local grocery merchants, the company said.

Within the 182 merchants, there are a handful of notable mobile merchants created and arranged to address accessibility challenges for the Orang Asli communities in Perak, it said.

By prioritising the cards’ usability at only local communities’ grocery merchants, Kiplepay claimed the government ensures that the financial aid flows back into the community. This ultimately benefits not just recipients of the financial aid, but merchants as well, it said.

Essential items aside, recipients can also seek medical help from 37 selected local clinics, claiming up to RM250 in costs for five months under execution of Kasih Ibu Darul Ridzuan and Kasih Ibu Perlis (Phase 1), with a limit of RM70 per visit. 

To date, Kiple pay said the cards have been distributed to a total of 8,093 families with 41,134 dependents in Perak and Perlis. Out of the total recipients, 1,094 are from Orang Asli communities with 2,233 dependents.

Moving forward, the Kasih Ibu initiative will continue in Kedah for a fourth time since its first in May 2019, expecting to kick off come January 2022, it said.

This initiative is aligned to the RMK-12 target of zero hardcore poor, which aims to continuously combat and break the cycle of poverty by improving living standards of B40 and Orang Asli Communities living in Malaysia’s northern states, it added.

Jebasingam Issace John, chief executive of NCIA, said following the success of the Kasih Ibu Darul Aman programme, NCIA has expanded it to Perak and Perlis to help more of those affected by Covid-19. 

“We are confident that these programmes and other related human capital integration programmes under NCIA will empower more households and improve their marginalised socioeconomic statuses,” he added. 

Beyond Programme Kasih Ibu, NCER onboards the communities and integrates programmes to raise income levels and reduce unemployment amongst the youths in hopes to raise the overall socioeconomic status of the communities.

For more information on current Kasih Ibu Programmes, participating merchants, and clinics, please visit the respective websites; Kasih Ibu Perlis at www.ncer.kiperlis.com and Kasih Ibu Darul Ridzuan at www.ncer.kidr.com