U Mobile has launched its Digital School initiative aimed at bringing the benefits of digitalisation to education institutions. The telco aims to accelerate digital adoption and to uplift the education sector by introducing a range of services and solutions such as cashless payments, digital attendance taking and security tracking, AI platforms for learning, advanced TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) courses and more to education institutions.
Under the first stage, U Mobile has collaborated with four selected government schools to roll out Projek Rintis: Cashless Ecosystem for Public Schools. The pilot project is focused on increasing financial literacy and smart money management among students through a digital payment platform. The launch was officiated by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Partnering with Vircle, the fintech solution will enable public school students to perform cashless transactions at the school canteen or purchase items at the school co-op shop and bookstore. These digital interactions would encourage students to be well-equipped to navigate the digital economy.
Through the cashless payment platform, parents can manage and monitor their children’s expenditures and provide them with insights to instil good money management habits from a young age. The digital ecosystem will also enable school administrators to improve operational efficiency by enabling them to make and receive cashless payments.
U Mobile CEO Wong Heang Tuck said, “U Mobile, in our quest to be Malaysia’s favourite digital services provider, is very excited to be accelerating digitalisation in education vertical through our Digital School pillar. In line with the government’s ambition to transition the nation into a digitally enabled and technology-driven society, we are delighted to be able to roll out Projek Rintis: Cashless Ecosystems for Public Schools under our Digital School pillar. As a Malaysian company, we believe we can play a critical role in promoting digitalisation for the next generation. Apart from schools, U Mobile is always exploring the potential of building beneficial ecosystems across various communities. We believe our latest digital school ecosystem will help shape the future talent of Malaysia to leverage opportunities to thrive in the digital economy.”
According to U Mobile, Projek Rintis is a year-long program that’s fully sponsored by U Mobile. With the system, students will receive an NFC card which is used for payments, while parents can manage their school allowance through a secure app. Through the app, parents can monitor their children’s expenditures and even manage their food intake by pre-ordering healthy and nutritious meals in school.
The cashless payment solution is provided by Debit Circles Sdn Bhd (Vircle) and they are regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia as an e-Money service under the principal licence of Fass Payment Solutions Sdn Bhd. The platform offers built-in child-friendly safety measures which include the ability for parents to freeze their child’s NFC card if it is misplaced or lost.
The Vircle app is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and Huawei AppGallery. The child doesn’t require the app and only one parent is required to create an account to manage pocket money, purchases and meals for the children.
Besides offering payment cards for school use, Vircle also offers Visa card for kids. The Visa card enables children to make cashless payments and perform cash withdrawals from Visa ATMs worldwide using funds provided by their parents.
