By Farhana Poniman
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) proposal to set a cash transaction limit (CTL) of RM25,000 per transaction next year has received a mixed reaction from businesses, with some quarters suggesting it should be at least RM50,000.
Asean Chamber of Commerce president, Datuk Moehamad Izat Emir said limiting physical cash transactions to just RM25,000 was a bit too drastic, and hoped the regulator would undertake a further study on this.
“There is a need to check with other countries, whether, they have also implemented this limit and the impact.
“We should not create a strict atmosphere for businesses to operate or else they might move operations elsewhere, like Vietnam, Indonesia or the Philippines,” he told Bernama.
He said if Malaysia wished to regain its status as the “Asian Tiger”, the country needs to be ahead of its peers.
Echoing the same sentiment, Malaysia Budget Hotel Association national deputy president, Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said the limit for cash transactions should not be capped at RM25,000, as it would be difficult for operations in the hotel sector.
“We will be impacted and it is not a good move. In limiting the cash transaction, it will throw up problems in our day-to-day operations because things are getting expensive.
“The threshold should be higher or at least RM50,000,” he added.
While acknowledging the rationale behind the move, he also said the CTL would also pose difficulties for licensed businesses rather than tackling the key issue of illicit activities.
However, a trading-based company focusing on home decoration, Suri Decor co-founder, Suriani Sobri said she sees the move as “business as usual”, considering her company has already been dealing with suppliers using electronic payment methods.
She said in dealing with suppliers to maintain the inventory level, most transactions were done using electronic payments.
“There are a few instances where we need to use physical cash. For example, we pay part timers cash to wrap products for shipment on a daily basis. This usually does not come up to RM10,000,” she added.
Suri Decor focuses on the business to consumer sales, riding on the uptrend in e-commerce, with its Instagram followers now reaching 33,000.
To recap, BNM announced the proposed CTL of RM25,000 last week as part of its initiative to continue curbing financial crimes.
It said cash transactions above the RM25,000 limit cannot be paid in cash, but electronically, such as by using a credit card or a cheque. – Bernama
