PETALING JAYA: Some people are charging university and college students up to RM15 in “fees” to convert their eBeliaRahmah credit to cash.
Since the government began disbursing the RM400 million aid to two million students on Monday, advertisements have been flooding Twitter and Instagram offering to convert the RM200 credit to cash.
The aid was given in the form of e-wallet credits via three apps – Touch ‘n Go (TNG), Boost and Setel – to university and college students aged 18 to 20 or those pursuing their studies full time. The credits are valid until Aug 22 next year.
Some of the aid recipients told FMT they converted their credit to cash immediately as it was difficult for them to utilise the credit, noting that they could only spend it at premises that used e-wallet services.
A student from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Rembau, Eirsyad Danish, said he converted his eBeliaRahmah credit to cash through someone he met online.
He said he was charged RM5 for the transaction and the person offering the service had a commercial bank account.
“I spend a lot on other apps such as Shopee. Apart from that, I also use the (converted) aid money to pay the MRT fare when I travel… So I do not use those three e-wallets much,” he said.
Another student from a different university who wanted to be known as Shah, said he was charged RM15 to convert his eBeliaRahmah credits to cash, but he turned down the offer.
“They are trying to take advantage (of the students). RM15 is too much as there are others who are only charging RM1 to RM5,” he said.
Margaret Mary, a student from Sarawak, said not many premises in the state accepted payments via the three e-wallet apps, with most retailers preferring cash or payments through the S Pay Global (Sarawak Pay) app.
FMT has reached out to deputy finance minister Ahmad Maslan for his response on the matter. - FMT
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