← Back to list

Cash still king in 2020 despite COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 31, 2021

Cash remained the favourite medium of payment in 2020, despite movement restrictions and a rise in online spending due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bank Negara says more than RM130 billion worth of banknotes and coins were in circulation, with an annual growth rate of over 14%.

This was the highest increase in currency in circulation in the past decade.

The central bank says this is because people and businesses opted to hold more cash during the pandemic as a precautionary measure.

__

Malaysia’s supply of AstraZeneca vaccine not from India

The government has played down concerns that the country’s supply of AstraZeneca jabs will be affected by India’s decision to temporarily suspend exports of the vaccine.

Minister-in-charge of the National Immunisation Program, Khairy Jamaludin, says Malaysia is sourcing its supply of the vaccine from AztraZeneca’s manufacturing facility in South Korea, and not India.

India placed a temporary ban on all exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to a surge in domestic infections.

__

Slight rise in new COVID-19 cases

Malaysia reported a slight rise in COVID-19 cases, with 1,482 infections.

Selangor had the highest number of cases followed by Penang, and Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Perlis, Putrajaya, and Labuan reported single digit cases. 

The Health Ministry also recorded seven more fatalities, raising the death toll to 1,272.