AS children step into the new school term, parents have to provide an allowance, mainly to spend during their recess times.
Before this, Malaysian children would usually receive some cash, regardless of the quantum from merely RM1 to RM5 and even up to RM20 daily.
However, the cashless payment method has been implemented in some public and vernacular schools nationwide where students are provided a debit card to use in the school canteen.
The concept being introduced to Malaysian families has brought up the question of whether it is wise to introduce this sort of financial responsibility to younger school students.
A woman recently took to TikTok to advise parents sending their children to school how to use debit cards and cautioned them to ensure their children are careful when handling the card.
According to @shimaosmanmy, her child’s school only accepted payment using a debit card, as shown in the video, issued from a particular banking institution.
“I want to remind everyone because those in Year One, Year, Two, Year Three are still young children and they would not get it right when it comes to maintaining their finances,” Shima said in her video, adding that she prefers her child to use physical money instead of going the cashless route.
Shima added that she keeps her child’s debit card in a lanyard and reminded parents to ensure their children’s details are written on the card in case it goes missing.
Furthermore, the concerned mother also warned parents against putting too much money into the card to avoid money being wasted unnecessarily.
“If your child asks how much is in the card, don’t say that there is RM100, RM50 – just tell them that there is only RM2 in there. (The child) will get used to spending according to the amount.
“Don’t tell them there is RM50 (in the card), later (they) would spend on the whole class,” she added.
She urged the school canteens nationwide to educate young students on how to use their debit cards and suggested that teachers help watch the students using their cards during recess.
Besides that, Shima also reminded school canteen operators to ensure their debit card machines are working and improve their signal when accepting transactions.
Netizens had split opinions on the cashless payment implementation, some welcoming the change while others voiced concerns about whether such a change would pose more harm than good when it comes to young students handling their allowance.
“It would be easier to give them cash instead. They can learn the process of counting their balance. With cards, they will tap non-stop without realising they have run out of money,“ @DiyanaAbuBakar pointed out.
“My child’s school uses e-coupon cards that function just like a Touch ‘N Go card. Its easy to top up (their) balance every week. I just have to remind (them) not to spend their whole allowance at one go,“ @sha.gibran commented.
“This is good. We can monitor their daily expenditure,“ @AngkuhDanLiar said.
