It’s been months since the Ringgit currency converter widget was taken down from Google Search. According to communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, the tool will eventually make its return to the popular search engine in the near future.
In a recent post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Fahmi said that Google had informed him that it is still conducting tests with a certified foreign exchange (FX) data provider, and will return the widget once it has determined that the tool functions more accurately. The minister also clarified that he played no role in the feature’s takedown earlier this year, and that the tech giant did so after receiving feedback from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Saya tidak pernah arah Google tutup currency exchange di search box seperti yang sdr tuduh.@GoogleMsia ambil tindakan menurunkan widget itu selepas mendapat maklumbalas @BNM_official.
Pihak Google memaklumkan mereka masih menjalankan ujian dengan FX data provider yg… https://t.co/deTzJDvyhW
— Fahmi Fadzil 🇲🇾 (@fahmi_fadzil) August 15, 2024
To recap, the statutory body released a statement back in March, revealing that Google’s currency converter tool had inaccurately displayed the exchange rate for Malaysian Ringgit at that time. BNM also noted that the incident marked the second time that the tech giant has repeated this mistake in the same year.
Ada data kadar pertukaran ringgit tidak tepat yang tersebar melalui media sosial berdasarkan data yang salah diterbitkan oleh Google pada 15 Mac 2024. Baca kenyataan akhbar kami di sini https://t.co/GI8cTg4V5n#SiaranAkhbarBNM pic.twitter.com/TqfQzNnJO3
— Bank Negara Malaysia (@BNM_official) March 16, 2024
Currently, users who wish to check the current RM exchange rate on Google Search are greeted with an answer box quoting third-party sites such as Xe, Wise, Revolut, and Forbes. While work on the currency converter widget is confirmed to be underway, the company did not provide an expected date of its return.
(Source: Fahmi Fadzil, via X)
