Kuala Lumpur, 29 August 2019
by Sunny Gan
These days, there is no reason to fuss about even when our wallets are left empty. Especially on days when you crave for a cup of boba drink, there are always ways to get your hands around it. Don’t get us wrong, we’re talking about making use of the virtual wallet, or otherwise known as: e-wallet. Instead of carrying a bulky wallet in your pocket, it has now become a norm for many to bring less cash but never without their smartphones. Consumers are gradually picking up the habit to pay for their goods through e-wallets that are integrated with smartphones.
So why are e-wallets becoming a neighbourhood topic in Malaysia? And what makes it so attractive that entice people to use it?
1. Elevating shopping experience
When it comes to shopping, there is nothing more dreadful than making payments for your orders. This is especially true for online shoppers as they are in the race against time to complete their purchase by filling up their personal information before the session expires. The circumstances are, however, different for e-wallet users. It makes the entire shopping experience much more pleasant as shoppers save the hassle of filling in the fields of an online order form. As for merchants, this also adds to their advantage as it reduces the risks of customers abandoning their purchases last minute if they find the whole process to be too tedious.
2. Expect incentives and promotion
One of the notable differences between cash and e-wallet payment lies in the presence of incentives and promotions. There are very few to limited rewards when shoppers pay with the cash unless they purchase in large quantities which would then entitle them with discounts. As for e-wallets, consumers can expect to be pampered with a variety of perks. In fact, each e-wallet service provider comes with its own set of loyalty programme and rewards system. It can come in forms of discounts, cashbacks, point collection, shake rewards or even free gifts. Shoppers are more likely to return to the same store if repurchasing allows them to earn these incentives where they can utilise it for their next purchase. Hence, companies can strengthen bonds and create loyal customers when they integrate e-wallet payment solutions to their businesses.
3. Quick transfer of funds
It is normal to have times where one of our friends would offer to pay the bill first. The next action would then proceed with splitting the bill accordingly and the common practice involves paying the other party by cash. Now, besides taking the effort to calculate the bill, the tricky part comes in when there are insufficient cash or loose change to provide those who paid extra. While some would offer to transfer the amount via online banking, others would suggest that they pay for it the next time. However, this does not guarantee that everyone would be mindful of their debt. Moving forward with e-wallet, it makes transferring and receiving funds much easier. Users have the flexibility to send money directly via the e-wallet app without any transaction fee or dealing with painful online banking processes.
As we continue to embark on the 21st century, we have to agree at some point that e-wallets are one of those innovations that are driving us towards a cashless society. On top of making payments and transactions more convenient and reliable, digital payments are also creating more opportunities for business operators and its customers. Moreover, if we all play our respective roles, we will reach to a point where the country will be transformed into a cashless nation one day.
