Answer for Oral Question PL317

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Haji Awang Sulaiman bin Haji Nasir

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG HAJI SULAIMAN BIN HAJI NASIR asked MENTERI KEWANGAN II to state the efforts and incentives that will be considered by the Government to encourage the widespread implementation of cashless payment systems at petrol stations in order to facilitate users’ transactions and support the national digitalisation agenda.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri Kewangan II

At present, cashless payment services can be used at two (2) petrol stations, namely TAIB Delima Petrol Station and TAIB Beribi Petrol Station. The cashless service is provided through the tarusQR system operated by National Digital Payments Network Sdn Bhd ("ndpx"), which enables users to make payments by scanning QR codes through applications such as MyDST, Progresif Ding! and TAIBVX.

ndpx is a joint venture between Darussalam Assets and local financial institutions, namely Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Baiduri Bank Berhad and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei "TAIB", for the establishment of a Digital Payment Hub that will operate a fast payment system.

The weekly usage of tarusQR has continued to increase each week since this facility was introduced. With the support and cooperation of Perbadanan TAIB and the operators of these applications, together with Brunei Shell Marketing, tarusQR is planned to be expanded further, subject to the agreement and availability of other petrol stations throughout Negara Brunei Darussalam.

Apart from the direct benefits to users as an alternative payment facility, digital payments will, among other things, improve the efficiency of business management, particularly in calculation and reconciliation activities, as well as help reduce the risk of financial fraud.

At the same time, cashless payment facilities using credit or debit cards are also available at several selected petrol stations in the country. However, at present, they are limited to purchases of Shell V-Power only. Nevertheless, it is emphasised that the widespread provision of cashless payment facilities at petrol stations in the country is also subject to the availability or “opt-in” of the petrol stations concerned.