On 23 Sept 2020, the government announced a new round of Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) payments as part of an additional aid programme to help the country continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

What can you get?
The new BPN, known as BPN 2.0, is the main assistance which could help you, with cash payments as follows:

•   RM1,000 for B40 households
•   RM500 for B40 singles
•   RM600 for M40 households
•   RM300 for M40 singles

The payments will be made in two instalments in Oct 2020 and Jan 2021 as follows:

 Recipients located in rural Sabah and Sarawak with no bank accounts will get cash payments through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) in Jan 2021.

Who can get BPN 2.0?
You can get the cash aid if your income falls under the following categories:

 Apart from the income categories, the government has also identified the following sub-categories among Households and Singles:

•       Households: Married/Single parent/Divorced/Widowed with children
•       Singles: Single/Divorced/Widowed without children

For all income categories, the age requirement is 21 years and above (including senior citizens aged 60 years and above).

How can you get BPN 2.0?
If you’d gotten BPN 1.0 when the programme was first introduced by the government in April 2020, you’ll automatically get BPN 2.0.

If you didn’t apply previously or your application had been rejected, you can apply for BPN2.0 from 15 Oct 2020 to 15 Nov 2020. Applications can be done online or by sending the application form to LHDN offices. You can search for your nearest LHDN office here.

Visit https://bpn.hasil.gov.my to check your BPN status, get the application form and submit your application online.

Where will the money be paid?
If you’d gotten BPN 1.0, the money will be sent to the bank account you registered previously. If your account isn’t active, has been closed or if you don’t have a bank account, you can claim cash payments at BSN branches. But if your bank account isn’t active or has been closed, you’ll need to wait until at least 15 Oct 2020 to check your payment status and get a serial number to claim your cash at BSN.

As of now, visiting BSN branches is the only option for Malaysians without bank accounts or those in rural areas to get the cash payments. Although BSN has bank agents through which it works with places like kedai runcit where you can do some banking transactions, be aware that you cannot receive BPN payments from these agents and you’ll have to go to an actual BSN bank branch. You can find your nearest BSN branch here.

Don’t forget to bring along your IC if you’re picking up cash payments at BSN! 

What if you got BPN 1.0 but your income or marital status has changed?
If you got BPN 1.0 for the M40 category, but you’re now in the B40 category, you can’t appeal to change your income category for BPN 2.0. LHDN says your BPN 2.0 payment will be based on your income category under BPN 1.0.

If you’ve gotten married or divorced since you got your BPN 1.0 payment and you meet certain requirements, you can appeal to LHDN to change your marital status and have your BPN 2.0 payment changed accordingly.

For more information on BPN 2.0, you can visit the BPN website or call their careline at 03-8911 1000 (or +603 8911 1100 if you’re overseas) from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.