KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Remember the loose change you received after making a payment, only for them to be placed amongst the forgotten pile of coins or “syiling” as we call them, never to see the light of the day again?
Indeed, coins are seen as much lower in value and cumbersome to handle in large quantities, making the public less likely to deposit excess coins with financial institutions and accumulate over time.
Enter Kocek, where the abundance of idle coins the public has amassed means tapping into the potential value of these coins or as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) puts it, “dead coins” and recirculating them.
“These coins left idle actually cost the country money.
“For the last decade, BNM has minted and distributed about 800 million pieces of coin annually, costing as much as RM65 million per year in the central bank’s expenditure,” head of Kocek Services, Sashi Kumar Tharmalinggam told Malay Mail in an interview recently.
As a matter of fact, BNM’s 2020 Annual Report estimates that as much as 30 per cent of coins or 240 million pieces issued annually end up being kept idle at home in jars and drawers as “dead coins”.
In both the 2020 and 2021 Annual Reports, BNM collected and recirculated 82.1 million coins or 9.1 per cent of their minting facility’s annual output in 2020; whereas 60.4 million pieces of coins or 7.6 per cent of total coins issued in 2021 were recirculated, representing a considerable cost saving to its currency operations.
Nevertheless, BNM conceded the challenge remains to get the public to recirculate more coins kept at home out of personal inconvenience.
“What Kocek does is that it brings out these coins from the public into recirculation through our services and brings them into circulation to the businesses which need them.
“What we are doing now is bridging the gap between idle coins and places which need them, i.e. businesses and by doing this we achieve cost saving to the country by reducing the need for BNM to mint new coins gradually,” Sashi further explained.
As for the name Kocek, which literally means “pocket” in Bahasa Malaysia, Sashi said the initial idea was to come up with a “catchy” name that is easily said and relatable to where a coin usually resides.
“So while it resides physically in your pocket, when you convert it into digital value, it goes into your digital pocket like your e-wallet or bank account,” he said.
Differences between conventional banks’ coin conversion service
Sashi said there were two major differences that set Kocek apart from existing services offered by financial institutions which primarily depended on public accessibility.
Firstly, Kocek allows converted coins to be transferred to any bank account as compared to being limited to a unique bank account registered with the bank whose coin deposit machine is being used.
Secondly, Kocek’s manned kiosks are easily accessed at selected retail outlets and post offices which go beyond the occasional inconvenience such as faulty machines and waiting time experienced at banks.
“In 2021, after consultation with BNM, we started the proof of concept (POC) in two or three retail outlets initially.
Presently, Kocek kiosks can be found at Berjaya Times Square, Subang Parade, and NSK Trade City; and Pejabat Pos Besar Kuala Lumpur, Pejabat Pos Besar Shah Alam, Pejabat Pos Kajang 2020 and Pejabat Pos Bandar Baru Bangi.
“Throughout the period of POC, we had active engagement with BNM on how to perfect this service and bring this to the people,” Sashi said, noting that Kocek now boasts seven locations throughout the Klang Valley and Selangor.
Sashi said Kocek has successfully recirculated around RM10 million worth of coins to date since the inception of the POC and is set for further expansion within Klang Valley and potentially more locations beyond nationwide following their collaboration with Pos Malaysia.
Bringing back coins from the dead
Going forward, Sashi said Kocek seeks to complement BNM’s coin recirculation agenda with existing financial institutions, further stressing it seeks not to replace them on matters relating to coin conversion services.
“Of course, we can always say that if something is available and Kocek is taking over their businesses is a matter of perception, but if there is a gap in that banks cannot provide such services at an optimum level, where Kocek then comes in by working together with the financial institutions and BNM’s needs.
“We are looking at how we can bring out the value of money, as we know of rising prices and inflation out there, so leaving cash value in the form of coins at home it’s not something which is smart.
“We know that people do have coins, you may be surprised. In a vase, piggy banks, their pockets, but these are cash values which are supposed to be used by them for their retail usage but if it’s just left there, they are the one losing, they should be using these coins and circulating it more,” he said.
For those seeking to convert their coins, a nominal 5 per cent service charge will be applied; whereas for purchase of coins through Kocek, a 2 per cent service charge will be applied.
Additional details and the latest updates can be accessed at Kocek’s Instagram page here.
