#SaveMoneyWithHann: Stop Paying Credit Card Interest And Save RM1,000s

In
my last post
 I mentioned that by changing what you use to spend – i.e. from cash to credit cards (and/or eWallets) – you can immediately save (or make?) money in the RM100s for the average family, rather than just going straight down the “don’t spend” route.
Credit cards are great, but if you’ve got existing credit card debt which you can’t pay off within your monthly bill deadline, this means you’ve consistently got a balance on your card and are paying credit card interest.
To save money here, the best way to think about it is to reduce the number in front of the % that you’re paying, likely somewhere between 9% – 18% p.a., or 0.75% – 1.5% each month on that balance on your credit card.

If you are struggling to repay your outstanding credit card balance, shifting that amount to a credit card with a
balance transfer program
 can save you RM100s if not RM1,000s.

TLDR – If you can’t pay back a large purchase or your credit card balance in full by the repayment date, better to do a Balance Transfer, buy some time at 0% p.a. and save RM100s of interest charges along the way.

How Do Balance Transfer Programs Work?
Think of it as one credit card paying off another credit card’s outstanding balance, which will be charged in installments at a significantly lower interest rate and sometimes for a small one-time upfront fee. This buys you time to pay off that balance, with less (or even no) interest accruing and making it even more difficult to do so.

If you don’t have another credit card (i.e. only the one which you have a large balance on), you will have to apply for a credit card from another bank, and you will be given either a separate balance transfer form, or be required to fill in the “Balance Transfer” section of a large credit card application, which will be processed alongside or right after your credit card application.
You will usually be able to transfer up to 80% of your new credit card limit, so if you have a new credit card with a RM10,000 limit, you will be allowed a maximum transfer of RM8,000. Your balance will then be “transferred” from your “old” card to your newly-approved credit card within a few working days. You then pay off your balance over the agreed payment period, which starts from three months and can stretch all the way to 36 months.
For an in-depth explainer about how Balance Transfer programs work, my team has gone through a ton of work for you in their
Balance Transfer 101
 research piece.
5 Balance Transfer Golden Rules

Don’t miss a payment on your balance transfer repayments.

Along with late payment fees, if you miss/underpay any installment, you will be charged interest on the remaining balance for the period of being overdue (and not just the single installment).

Don’t use your balance transfer as a reason to increase your spending when you otherwise would not.

Just because you have a fresh line of credit at low rates (0% with a small fee), does not mean you should now assume you have “spare money”. Remember, if you’re trying to save money (and you will, with balance transfers), spending more that you would have
because
 of it defeats the purpose.

Don’t stretch out any longer than you need to pay back your whole balance.

This used to be a thing for seasoned credit card users as you can find deposit accounts with interest rates that were relatively higher than fees on Balance Transfers, but at today’s rates, the upfront fees for balance transfers are now likely to be higher than any savings interest rates – so you don’t make money from longer tenures like you could before.

In Malaysia, Balance Transfer = Unsecured term loan on your credit card, so don’t just pay the minimum payment.

In most countries, balance transfers allow you to transfer balances to another card and just pay the monthly 5%-of-balance minimum payment. This is slightly different in Malaysia where a balance transfer is usually just like a (very low effective interest) Term Loan on your new credit card. If you just pay that 5% and not the full installment amount, you’ll be charged interest as per Rule #1.

Use our Eligibility calculator to see which credit cards you’re most likely to be approved for.

Every application for a credit card (whether approved or rejected) will show up on your CCRIS record as a “credit application”, and that will affect your chances of approval of future credit applications. Our
Credit Card Eligibility Checker
 allows to you see which credit cards with balance transfer programs you are likely to be approved for even without having to make a formal application to any bank.

How much can I save?
If you had a balance on your card which you can’t pay off by the end of the statement due date, then you can potentially save RM1,000s with a balance transfer plan.
To give everyone a better sense of what I mean, here is a quick illustration of an example situation to consider for someone who needs to make purchases with their credit card totaling RM12,000 but can only pay it off over 6 months.
In the table below, I’ve given some realistic BT scenarios that can be found in the market today: 0% for 6 months with 1.5% upfront fee, 0% for 12 months with RM0 upfront, and 0% for 24 months with a 5% upfront fee.
Used Credit Card A to buy home furniture totaling RM12,000
No Balance Transfer
Balance Transfer for 6 months
Balance Transfer for 12 months
Balance Transfer for 24 months
Balance on credit card
12,000
12,000
12,000
12,000
Monthly repayment
2,088
2,000
1,000
500
Interest
15% p.a.
0% p.a.
0% p.a.
0% p.a.
Upfront fee
0%
1.5%
0%
5%
Total Interest Paid on Credit Card
RM528
RM180
RM0

RM600

Potential Savings With A Balance Transfer Plan
N/A
RM348
RM528
(-RM72)
In the example above, you bought RM12,000 worth of stuff but only can pay ~RM2,000 each month, and therefore it is best to apply for a balance transfer program that allows you to minimise the interest (or fee) over the 12 months. The savings can run up to the RM100s on a like-for-like basis.
Likewise, the example above shows that you pay an extra RM72 in fees/interest for a 24-month BT plan vs 6 months with no BT. While you do end up paying a slight amount more, you stretch the repayment terms by 4x – if your cashflow is tight, it actually makes sense to do this and reduce the risk of additional interest charges and/or late payment fees if you had no BT plan.
Balance Transfer For The Pros/Seasoned Credit Cardholders

Now, we’ve shown how a balance transfer plan is normally used. But as with any financial tool, there will be a group of users who will maximise its potential benefit.
For this group of “power users”, balance transfers are a tool to earn interest. Many search for the “holy grail” of 0%, 0 upfront fee balance transfer plans, which banks usually offer as seasonal campaigns. Don’t be surprised to see many of these users stringing multiple BTs, where one plan pays another! (as I said, “power users”)
How exactly do these pros earn money from BTs? Most of the time, this group of users have the ability to pay their credit card bills in full each month, but if they can repay it in installments at 0% over a year, that money can be put into a fixed deposit account or a high interest savings account which then accrues interest.
Since a BT isn’t like a credit card easy payment plan which converts only one transaction, a BT is a lot more flexible for power users by allowing them to convert any amount charged to one card and be paid off in installments on another card – that’s why the “holy grail” 0%, fee-free plans are much sought after.
Plus, even if a bank offers 0% BT plans but with small upfront charges, the interest earned may potentially be higher – in this case, some homework should be done before applying for one.

The good ol' days: Maybank's 12-month 0% BT campaign with 3% fee waiver back in 2018

That said, things have changed quite a bit in recent times. In the past (i.e. pre-2020), when promotional interest rates for 1-month fixed deposits were in the 3% p.a. range, one could conceivably apply for a balance transfer program and make a little money on the side from sticking the unpaid balance into a 1-month FD and pocketing the interest (i.e. the balance that you transferred, but keep in mind that balance shrinks over time to pay off the balance on the new card).

Just how much can one earn from this interest? Let’s break it down with the same example earlier.

Used Credit Card A to buy home furniture totaling RM12,000

No Balance Transfer

Balance Transfer for 6 months

Balance Transfer for 12 months

Balance Transfer for 24 months

Balance on credit card

12,000

12,000

12,000

12,000

Monthly repayment

2,088

2,000

1,000

500

Interest

15% p.a.

0% p.a.

0% p.a.

0% p.a.

Upfront fee

0%

1.5%

0%

5%

Total Interest/Fee Paid on Credit Card

RM528

RM180

RM0

RM600

Interest earned from a 2% p.a. 1-month FD on amounts you don’t have to pay back first (i.e. put the difference between the repayment amounts into an interest bearing account)

N/A

RM50

(RM10,000 in Month 1, RM8,000 in Month 2, …, RM2,000 in Month 5)

RM110

(RM11,000 in Month 1, RM10,000 in Month 2, …, RM1,000 in Month 11)

RM210.83

(RM11,500 in Month 1, RM11,000 in Month 2, …, RM500 in Month 23)

Total Net Interest/Fee Paid

RM528

RM130

-RM110

RM389.17

Theoretical “Effective Saving” (BT vs no BT)

N/A

RM398

RM638

RM138.83

In the new (lower)
OPR environment
 , as savings (and lending) rates have dropped, the rate at which you can “earn” is dramatically reduced. Even worse, those pesky Balance Transfer “upfront fees” may be quite a bit higher than savings rates, making any “profit” either very very small, or not attainable without going for “fee-free” options.

Bonus Tip: Search For 0% & 0 Fees Balance Transfer Plans – They Exist!

If you’ve made it this far, you should now see that BTs are a useful tool to manage large outstanding balances and even to earn interest. If you’re on the look out for one, try searching for the zero interest, zero upfront plans (i.e. 0% for 6 or 12 months with 0%/RM0 upfront fees). There are usually one or two banks offering this on a promotional basis at any given time, watch out for them in our
monthly BT promo article
!

Public Bank BT promo for new cardholders

Affin Bank BT promo for new cardholders

See how this changes the illustration above:
Used Credit Card A to buy home furniture totalling RM12,000
No Balance Transfer
Balance Transfer for 6 months
BT for 6 months, 0% upfront fee
Balance on Credit Card
12,000
12,000
12,000
Monthly repayment
2,088
2,000
2,000
Interest
15% p.a.
0% p.a.
0% p.a.
Upfront “Fee”/”Interest” on Balance Transferred
0%
1.5%
0%
Total Interest Paid on Credit Card
RM530
RM180
RM0
Interest savings from Savings Account / FD (ie put the difference between the repayment amounts into an interest bearing account say at 3%p.a.)
–
–
–
Total Net Interest/Fee Paid
RM530
RM180
RM0
“Saving”
–
RM350
RM530
So it sort of looks like some credit cards will basically give you money “for free”? Yes! But how does the bank or credit card issuer make money then? The simple answer is that they will likely try and make money off you by fees (in case you are late paying your monthly bill, etc.) and cross-selling (selling you some other bank products), so remain disciplined in your monthly repayments, and always compare (rather than just be upsold something) and you will be able to make (rather than lose) money!
Final Words

https://ringgitplus.com/en/balance-transfer/
While I’ve highlighted the various fees and things to watch out for with balance transfers, the reality is that I highly recommend using them whenever needed, at least ahead of any other types of financing instruments (ahead of even home loan top-up refinancing and definitely ahead of cash advances or personal loans). Why? The simple reason is that for medium term (6-24 months) lending it’s usually the cheapest form of debt (~3% p.a.), vs. those other options.
So if you have a need to buy or pay off something large and don’t quite have the cash at hand, consider the following hierarchy:
Cash at hand
Spend (on a Cashback Credit Card) with a 0% EPP
Spend (on a Cashback Credit Card), and then Balance Transfer it (0% – ~3% p.a.)
Home Loan Top-Up or Refinancing Loan (3.5-4.0% p.a.)
Credit Card Installments on your Existing Card (3.5% – 7.5% p.a. depending on your bank)
Personal Loans (4.5% – 12% p.a. depending on the bank)
Should Probably Stop here (and if you can’t access the above options, consider whether you really need the large purchase or not).
As you can see, Balance Transfers are closer to the top of the list than the bottom, so it is worth considering before the other higher interest options first.

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Hann Liew

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Citi eWallet Campaign Offers RM400 In Cashback And Additional 10x Rewards Points

Citibank has launched an e-wallet top-up campaign for all Citi credit cardholders, offering up to RM400 in cashback and also an additional 10x rewards points just by topping up the eligible e-wallets using your Citi credit cards. The 2020 Citi eWallet Campaign has several sub-campaigns under this main promotion – which vary according to the type of Citi credit card you have as well as the rewards you stand to gain.

If you have a Citi card and regularly use e-wallets, keep reading.

2020 Citi eWallet Cashback Campaign: Get Up To RM400 In Cashback

This campaign is open to all principal cardholders of Citi Visa or Mastercard credit cards. There are five e-wallets eligible for top-up under the campaign: Boost, GrabPay, Touch ’n Go eWallet, BigPay, and Lazada Wallet. The campaign is divided into two sub-campaigns; you can earn up to RM150 in the first and up to RM250 in the second.

Sub-Campaign 1: Earn Up To RM150 In Cashback From 7 February – 30 April 2020

All you need to do is top up an eligible e-wallet with a minimum of RM100 once every month from February (starting from 7 February) to April. At the end of those three months, you will be eligible for RM30 worth of cashback for one e-wallet, which works out to 10% in cashback returns.

You can get more cashback by topping up more than one e-wallet – allowing you to earn up to RM150 cashback in three months if you make the required monthly top-ups across all five e-wallets. Here’s the example provided by Citi:

The total cashback to be given out under this sub-campaign is capped at RM250,000 throughout the campaign period. The cashback will be rewarded on a first-come-first-served basis, based on when your transaction is made during the month of April (the final campaign month).

Take note of this, as it means the eligibility of this sub-campaign’s total cashback hinges on what time you perform your e-wallet top-ups in April.

Sub-Campaign 2: Top Up For Five Consecutive Months And Get Up To RM250 In Cashback

If you want more cashback, you can participate in the second cashback sub-campaign. To qualify, top up RM100 into an eligible e-wallet for five consecutive months anywhere between 7 February and 31 December. You will then be rewarded with RM50 in cashback at the end of the five months – 10% in cashback returns.

Again, you can earn more cashback by topping up multiple eligible e-wallets, earning you up to RM250 in cashback. The total cashback under this sub-campaign is capped at RM500,000 on a first-come, first-served basis. Here’s the illustration provided by Citi:

So, you can earn anywhere from RM30 in cashback to a total of RM400 under this main cashback campaign – depending on how many e-wallets you top up and whether you do it for three or five months in a row.

Based on the T&Cs of both sub-campaigns, it does seem that you can participate both sub-campaigns concurrently. So, if you top up just RM100 every month from now until April, that should fulfil your requirements for the first sub-campaign and leave you two months to go to complete sub-campaign part two.

The terms and conditions for this campaign can be found here for
Visa cardholders
 and here for
Mastercard holders
. Despite the different documents for Visa and Mastercard cardmembers, both sets of terms and conditions are the same.

By Invitation Only: Earn 10X Bonus Rewards Points with 2020 Citi eWallet Cashback And Rewards Campaign

In addition, Citi has another version of its e-wallet campaign that offers both cashback
and
additional 10x rewards points. Sounds too good to be true? Well, this campaign is strictly by invitation only to selected Citi cardholders of rewards-point based credit cards. Invited users will receive an SMS informing them of eligibility.

The cashback mechanics for this campaign are identical to those of the cashback-only promotion we’ve explained above. It is divided into two sub-campaigns offering up to RM400 in cashback and the requirements for earning the cashback are exactly the same.

The bonus in this particular campaign lies in the additional 10x rewards points you can get from e-wallet top-ups under Sub-Campaign Part 1. That’s the part that requires you to top up your e-wallet from February to April; you don’t get additional rewards points for the second sub-campaign which requires you to top up for 5 months in a row.

As an example, let’s say you top up RM100 into each of the five eligible e-wallets for three months, spending RM1,500 altogether. Under your normal 1x rewards points earning, you would be getting 1,500 Rewards Points. Thanks to the campaign, you will get an additional 10x points multiplier, earning you 16,500 rewards points (1,500 + 15,000 bonus) for your top-ups. Note that you can top up any amount to earn the 10x bonus points, making this potentially really rewarding for heavy e-wallet users.

There is a monthly cap of 200,000,000 Rewards Points to be given out, with a total campaign cap of 600,000,000 over the three-month campaign. These will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis based on when the qualifying transaction is made each month.

If you have been invited to participate in this campaign, it is unlikely that you will be able to participate and reap the benefits of the cashback-only campaign too – given that this campaign is basically the cashback campaign plus additional rewards points benefits.

The terms and conditions can be found here for
Visa cardholders
 and here for
Mastercard cardholders
, but again, both versions are the same.

***

(Image: The Sun Daily)

For those who top up their e-wallets regularly, this campaign is an incredibly easy way to get a rewarding 10% cashback. Even if you only use one out of the five participating e-wallets, you can get at least RM30 in cashback after three months; if you use all five, you’ll earn the most.

Not to forget, on top of your 10% campaign cashback for topping up, you still get to reap whatever benefits your e-wallet has to offer when you spend the money in your e-wallet!

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About THE AUTHOR

Jacie Tan

Jacie Tan

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    YANG SIEW KIN

    3 years ago

If i spend only at ewallet montlhy RM 150.00 , do I still get cash back?

0

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    Pang Tun Yau

    3 years ago

    Reply to

        YANG SIEW KIN

Yup it should be, as long as your top up value must be a minimum of RM100 per transaction to be eligible.

-1

Reply

    KG Tan

    3 years ago

For sub campaign 1, for month 4 and month 5, is it  understood as 1.May to 31.May and also 1.June to 30 June?

So because it is first come first serve basis, that means i must top up on the 1 May and 1 June as early as possible to reap the benefits to secure it. Am i right?

0

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    Jacie Tan

    3 years ago

    Reply to

        KG Tan

Sub campaign 1 only lasts for 3 months from February to April. For sub campaign 2, the months don’t necessarily have to start from February – it’s just any 5 consecutive months between February and December. As such, it’s not stated in the T&C precisely which month you should be topping up ASAP in order to be one of the first-come-first-served, but topping up as early as possible during each month does seem like a good strategy anyway!

0

Reply

    Tan Keat Seang

    3 years ago

If I read the T&C of Citibank correctly, the cashback is not guaranteed. It is “you stand a chance to win…”

0

Reply

    Pang Tun Yau

    3 years ago

    Reply to

        Tan Keat Seang

Yes, it’s on a first come, first served basis.

0

Reply

    Lee CW

    2 years ago

I only received rm30 cashback but not rm50 even continue to top up every month till Nov

0

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Apply For A Credit Card This Week To Win RM5000 In Cash Via DuitNow, Apple Products And More

We’re closing the month of May with some amazing prizes to give away! If you’re looking to apply for a credit card, grab the opportunity to take home impressive gifts including RM5000 in cash via DuitNow, Apple products, and more this week.

For those who are new to this campaign, Unbox This Week is a weekly event where we present to you fantastic weekly flash deals from our featured bank partners. All you need to do is apply for selected credit cards from these banks of the week through RinggitPlus and you’ll take home some great prizes.

From 29 May to 6 June, our featured bank partners are

none other than
Standard Chartered, HSBC Bank, RHB, Alliance Bank, Public Bank, and UOB
. So, if you’ve considered applying for a credit card with any of these banks, you know what to do to get more out of your application!

Standard Chartered – Apple iPhone 14 Pro

You could win an Apple iPhone 14 Pro when you apply for a Standard Chartered credit card this month!

The iPhone 14 Pro allows you to capture incredible details with its 48MP main camera, for up to 4x greater resolution – perfect for smartphone photography enthusiasts. You’ll also be able to experience crystal clear screen resolution thanks to its 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, which makes watching videos on your phone a breeze.

You’ll still be able to take home guaranteed RM600 in Touch ‘n Go eWallet Credit if you don’t win the Apple iPhone 14 Pro!

Just remember, you will need to activate your card within 30 days upon approval to be eligible for this gift. Lastly, be aware that existing cardholders and individuals who have held a Standard Chartered credit card in the past six months are not eligible for this campaign. If you qualify, then you can apply for your new Standard Chartered credit card
here
.

HSBC Bank – Apple iPad Air M1

Stand a chance to win an Apple iPad Air M1 when you apply for a HSBC credit card this month!

With an immersive 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, the iPad Air M1 utilises the breakthrough Apple M1 chip, making it a creative and mobile gaming powerhouse. Featuring Touch ID, 12MP front and back cameras, blazing-fast wireless, and USB-C charging port, the iPad Air M1 is the go-to device for both work and play.

You’ll still be able to take home a guaranteed pair of Apple AirPods (2nd Generation) if you don’t win the Apple iPad Air M1!

Don’t forget to activate and spend a minimum of RM1,000 on your new card within 60 days upon gaining approval to be eligible for this gift. That said, do note that current cardholders and applicants who were denied within six months prior to this campaign, as well as those who have cancelled their HSBC credit cards within six months prior to this campaign are not eligible for our campaign. Otherwise, you can apply for your HSBC credit card
here
.

RHB – RM5000 via DuitNow

Our grandest cash gift is here to stay this week! You might be the lucky winner of RM5,000 cash via DuitNow when you apply for a RHB card this week.

For those who are not selected, you will still walk away with guaranteed RM400  Touch ‘N Go eWallet credit.

Once approved, you just have to activate and spend to meet the requirements of the campaign and be eligible to get the gift. Existing cardholders of any RHB Bank credit card and individuals who have held or cancelled an RHB Bank credit card in the past six months are not eligible for this campaign. Apply for an RHB Bank Credit Card
here
.

Alliance Bank – JBL Tune 710BT Wireless Headphones Or JBL Wave 100TWS True Wireless Earbuds

Apply for a new Alliance Bank Credit Card and you’ll be able to take home a guaranteed pair of JBL Tune 710BT Wireless Headphones or JBL Wave 100TWS True Wireless Earbuds this week!

You’ll be guaranteed the JBL Tune 710BT Wireless Headphones when you apply for an Alliance Credit Card with Balance Transfer. The wireless headphones feature a powerful bass sound, with a lightweight over-ear design for maximum comfort and immersion in sound. You’ll also be able to connect your devices with its Bluetooth function, allowing you to make and receive calls.

Applying for an Alliance Credit Card without Balance Transfer? You’ll receive the JBL Wave 100TWS True Wireless Earbuds. What makes these earbuds the perfect accessory for listening to music is its powerful JBL Deep Bass sound and its long-life battery – allowing you to listen to music comfortably for up to 20 hours.

Upon approval, you just have to activate and spend to meet the requirements of the campaign and be eligible to get the gift. Existing cardholders of any Alliance Bank credit card and individuals who have held or cancelled an Alliance Bank credit card in the past six months are not eligible for this campaign. Apply for an Alliance Bank Credit Card
here
.

Public Bank – Panasonic Nanoe X Air Purifier

Stand a chance to win the Panasonic Nanoe X Air Purifier this week when you apply, get approved and spend with a Public Bank Credit Card.

Featuring a unique compact design shaped like a coffee cup, the Panasonic Nanoe X Air Purifier will be able to clean the air around you, thanks to its unique ability to emit Nanoe X particles, which helps to inhibit airborne bacteria and viruses. You’ll also be able to carry it with you everywhere you go, as it only weighs 0.4kg.

For those who are not selected, you will still walk away with a guaranteed Case Valker 20” Gorgeous Luggage Bag.

All you need to do is complete your application via the RinggitPlus website, get approved by Public Bank, and make an accumulative spend of RM250 within sixty (60) days of approval to be guaranteed this gift. Apply for your Public Bank credit card
here
.

UOB – RM250 Touch ‘n Go eWallet Credit

From 31st May to 6th June, you’ll be guaranteed RM250 TNG eWallet Credit when you apply and activate a UOB Credit Card. Treat yourself to a shopping spree, pay for utilities, or spend it on a nice meal for yourself – there are just so many options to choose from.

To redeem your gift, apply for your card via the RinggitPlus website, get approved by UOB, and activate your card. Apply for your UOB credit card
here
.

***

Finally, be sure to start your application with our WhatsApp chatbot so that your eligibility is guaranteed, and we can always be at hand to help you when you need us.

While this week’s flash deal ends on 6 June 2023 (11am), do follow us on our
Facebook page
 to receive the latest Unbox This Week offers as we refresh the deals every week.

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Eloise Lau

Eloise Lau

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Celebrating New Years Eve Without Going Broke

New Year’s Eve is just a day away and it is considered the party season highlight in most parts of the globe. That said, even if it wasn’t part of your agenda before – you may get caught up in the pressure to party by your peers.

Whether you are looking to avoid the expensive dinners and events in Malaysian city centres or simply looking for inexpensive ways to treat your family to a good New Years Eve night; these suggestions may come in handy.

Skip Restaurants with Fixed Menus

Some restaurants, especially fancier chains employ the special New Year’s Eve Menu that is often filled with pretentious dishes that are 3-4 times more expensive than their regular fare.

Most of the time, all that is needed is a fancy name or one expensive condiment that you really won’t miss and your meal suddenly premium priced.

Give the restaurants you’ve narrowed down a call beforehand and ask if they are employing the ‘special menu only’ tactic. This will save you the trip of walking in and finding you’re stuck with dishes you don’t eat and a bill that takes the next quarter of 2016 to pay.

That’s not to say you cannot EVER partake of the fixed set menus. Consider the price of the set, what is being offered and what you would usually get at the restaurant involved. If all things considered you find yourself thinking the deal is a good one – then go ahead.

Have a Home Supper Party For Relatives and Friends

Dinner may be expensive to cater for especially if you have a huge family and large group of friends. Take a tip from our
party on a budget guide
 and have a supper party with finger food.

This way, you can all ring in the new year together with much merriment but a much smaller bill because everyone eats their own dinner before arriving.

You could similarly organise a potluck but do take care to note what everyone is bringing so you don’t end up with 3 salads and 2 baskets of bread rolls only.

Our
guide to throwing a party on a budget
 will certainly come in handy for your New Year’s Eve ‘do at home, so check it out if you haven’t already.

Skip New Year’s Eve…

Before you blow a fuse over this suggestion; hear us out! If you love a good NYE party; please by all means do go ahead but there are equally as many folk who don’t enjoy the loud music and would like nothing more than to go to bed at 10pm.

If New Year’s Eve parties aren’t your scene, be empowered not to join in even when the pressure is on to do something. You can always wish your friends and family the next day or take them out for a New Year’s Day lunch.

The idea behind celebrating New Year’s coming is to set a happy tone for a prosperous and fulfilling new year: something you won’t really be able to do if you’re stuck in a place you dislike and spending more money than you anticipated.

Make it About the People and Experiences

At the end of the day, and the year, what usually matters are the people who made 2015 great (that includes yourself!) and who will continue to share your life in 2016. Whatever you decide to do, if you keep that your focus, you should have a pretty excellent New Year’s Eve by all accounts.

What will you be doing on New Year’s Eve? Share your thoughts and tips with us in the comments.

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Diana Chai

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CIMB Group CEO Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Is Malaysia’s New Minister Of Finance

(Image: Prospect Asean)

Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul, the Group CEO and CEO of CIMB Bank Berhad, has been appointed as the new Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday. He is part of Malaysia’s new Cabinet line-up, announced by the prime minister yesterday.

Consequently, Zafrul has resigned from his posts as Group CEO and CEO of CIMB Bank, as well as all other board positions effective immediately. He will also have to be appointed as a senator before officially taking on the role of the Minister of Finance, given his non-political background.

“I am humbled by this enormous responsibility, especially at a time when the country is facing unprecedented economic challenges. I undertake to give my best to the nation and am looking forward to serve with all the relevant stakeholders in ensuring we remain steadfast and in the spirit of inclusivity, work together to realise our collective aspirations,” said Zafrul.

Kudat MPD Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri (left); Paya Besar MP Mohd Shahar Abdullah (right)

Zafrul will be assisted in his new role by two deputies: UMNO’s Kudat MPD Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri and Paya Besar MP Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

Zafrul served the CIMB Group for six years after rejoining it in 2014, and is commended to have accomplished an outstanding job in leading the bank according to its strategic plans.

“His [Zafrul’s] energy and commitment to CIMB will be difficult to match, but he leaves behind a better organisation with a stronger footing where he has united and instilled a strong CIMB culture,” said the chairman of CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad.

In place of Zafrul, the CIMB Group Board has appointed Omar Siddiq, currently the Group Chief Operating Officer, as Officer-In-Charge for CIMB Group and CIMB Bank Berhad. This marks a start to the group’s succession plan.

(Source:
Malay Mail
)

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About THE AUTHOR

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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Employee vs Employer: Which Side is Better Off?

Oh, this one seems easy to answer, right? I mean one of them can just
fire the other
! But upon closer inspection we think you’ll learn that not everything is so cut and dry. Is it really better to be the employer rather than the employee? Let’s break it down and see!

Employee

Advantages

Steady Income
: When you’re employed by a stable and reputable company, your earnings are pretty much set. Until the day you leave the job or some harsh corporate restructuring happens, you’ll be able to earn
the same salary
 without having to worry about looking for clients or customers.

Benefits and Coverage
: Another advantage of being employed full-time (compared to part-time or freelance work) is that you get
benefits and coverage
. You may even be entitled to claim work-related expenses from your company. If your talent and skills prove useful, the firm will definitely take care of you.

Predictable Work Pattern
: In a full-time work situation, you always know what’s expected of you and your job scope. You can get into the office, go over your task list and knock them down within work hours. No crazy ad-hoc unpredictability there.

Disadvantages

Income Is Mostly Fixed
: Sure, you can angle for a promotion or
earn some extra
 if you work on commission, but for the most part, your salary is fixed. No matter how many new responsibilities you’ll suddenly have to take on or (in some cases) how many extra hours you put in.

Less Freedom
: Often, in an office environment you can’t really work exactly the way you want to. Work hours, dress code, code of conduct, and office culture all dictate the way you accomplish your tasks. Which can be tough for people who value
creative expression and autonomy
.

Office Politics
: Are you the kind of person who loves your job, but hates your coworkers? That’s what we mean here. You can’t just work yourself away from bad coworker experiences. This can be even more draining on people who have a low affinity for social interaction.

Employer

Advantages:

Control and Freedom
: You have the most say in how things get done in the workplace, including how you want to work, the hours you want to work for, and who gets to work with you at all in the first place. This one is a biggie.

Virtually No Income Ceiling
: If your company does well, you can give yourself bonuses, or just pay yourself more in general. You do have the most control, after all. Just like
being a freelancer
, the better you work, the more you’ll earn.

Clearer Sense Of Accomplishment
: As the employer, you get a bird’s eye view of things and can feel better accomplished when your strategies pay off either financially or otherwise. It also feels good to know you’re responsible for a lot of positive things that happen for your company and employees.

Disadvantages:

Everything Is Your Fault
: Having a lot of responsibility also means being repsonsible when bad things happen. And they happen all the time. Your every mouse click affects entire groups of people’s livelihoods and that can be very stressful indeed.

You Have Many, and More Difficult Decisions To Make
: Contrary to the predictable work pattern of the employee, an employer’s task vary wildly from one day to the next. The needs of the company are plenty and things change often. You have a lot to think about and you need to know everything thats going on in the company. That’s a lot of stuff to bear on your shoulders every single workday.

As you can see, there is more to being and employer or employee than you may realise. Are you one or the other? Or both? We hope this has been illumninating and you can better appreciate where you are or better aspire to future things!

We do comparisons like this every day on our site and every week on our blog! Check out our previous
comparison between freelance work and part-time work
! Do you have anything to contribute to this article? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below!

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Ahmad Mudhakkir

Ahmad Mudhakkir

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How Your Retirement Plans Should Change if You Don't Have Children

Not everybody wants to (or can) have children. If you’re one of these people, you may think this means fewer things to worry about, financially. For the most part, this is true. No need to think about college tuition, helping them out during financial difficulties, or long expensive travel trips to visit children living far away.

But not having kids also means having new and different financial matters to worry about, especially as far as retirement plans are concerned. Here‘s a look at what your new plans might involve in order to maximise your chances of retiring comfortably and ensuring that your interests are taken care of in your golden years if you don’t have any children:

1. Appointing Guardian Lawyers or Conservators

An appointed guardian is someone who will take care of your best interests when your mental capacity is not as fit as it used to be. This includes helping to manage your property, make medical decisions and advise on other financial decisions.

The last thing you’ll want is a relative that you don’t quite trust to make decisions for you, actually making decisions for you!

Instead, you’ll want to be secure in the knowledge that you are being taken care of by people who are legally bound to do right by you and will ensure that your wishes are followed through.

2. Purchasing Long-Term Medical Insurance Coverage

Not having to front the costs of raising children and sending them off to college should leave you with a surplus of cash. But where should this extra money go? Well, preparing for medical costs is certainly a necessity.

Depending on the age in which you require medical nurses and caregivers to help, your insurance might be able to partially cover these costs. But even though some policies remain viable until the policyholder reaches 100 years of age, other policies can automatically be unrenewable once you turn a certain age (e.g. 70 to 90 years old). When this happens, you will be responsible to foot the bill for caregivers and medical costs, so it’s best to allocate funds to account for these.

3. Basic Assistance & Caregiving

In some instances, the idea of planning for your retirement might not need to change much whether you do or do not have kids. This is true for people who do not intend on relying on their children’s support as they age. However, parents may get help from their offspring that people without children might have to pay for.

This includes caregivers, drivers and daily assistance – no matter how we hate to think about it, we might need help for even basic tasks such as shopping for groceries or getting to the pharmacy. Now your future kids may do this for free but without the prospect of them you will need to think about putting money aside to pay for help.

4. Estate Planning

When you have no children to leave your accumulated savings, properties and other assets to – where will it go in the event of your demise? It’s not a comfortable subject to broach, yet it’s necessary.

To avoid your extended family from making these decisions for you, you’ll need to plan your estate and update your will to reflect your wishes accordingly.

5. Retirement Savings Plans

We’ve heard it time and again, but your EPF account alone is not sufficient to support your retirement.

Thus, it’s best to focus on growing your money now to enjoy a more comfortable one when you retire. The Private Retirement Scheme is one option where another would be to invest for long-term capital growth. The best people to advise you on the right retirement plan or your goals however are licensed financial planners. Do consider hiring one now to help you build your retirement finances.

So Without Dependents, is Life Insurance Still Necessary?

Remember that life insurance is meant to provide for those you leave behind in case of your demise or incapacitation. Even if your spouse is perfectly capable of supporting themselves without you, it still makes sense to put them (or some other loved one) as beneficiary. Your own parents, your siblings, or your nieces and nephews might be good candidates for this.

Investment-linked insurance plans are also worth looking at as they provide you with investment returns as well as insurance. If you’re looking for an insurance policy that fits your needs you can check out
our comparisons page
 to find the best ones offered in Malaysia. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments section down below!

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Desiree Nair

Desiree Nair

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Public Bank's Visa Campaign Is Back, Offering Rewards Of Up To RM80 Cashback

Public Bank has returned once more with its Spend and Save with PB Visa Credit Card campaign, offering Visa credit cardholders cashback rewards of up to RM80 when they hit a specified cumulative spend amount. Running from today until 31 October 2022, the campaign is open to all new and existing Public Bank and Public Islamic Bank principal Visa credit cardholders.

This latest round of the campaign features slight changes to its mechanics; while the
previous round
 only had two tiers of cashback rewards, this round comes with three: RM20, RM50, and RM80 – but with slightly higher cumulative spend requirements in general. The respective rewards can be earned when you spend the following amounts during a campaign month:

Cumulative spend in a month
Cashback amount
Total allocation for each cashback reward per month
RM2,000 – less than RM4,000
RM20
RM70,000
RM4,000 – less than RM6,000
RM50
RM42,000
RM6,000 and above
RM80
RM40,000

Note that only retail transactions are accepted for this campaign; these include all local retail spending, online purchases, and new zero interest instalment plans (full purchase amount). Meanwhile, transactions such as balance transfers, recurring payments, as well as payments for utilities, insurance, and charities do not qualify for this campaign. Split payments are not allowed as well.

Credit cardholders who manage to hit the specified cumulative spend will be able to earn the cashback reward on a first-come-first-served basis. Do note that each cardholder can only earn a maximum of RM80 cashback amount during each campaign month.

If you do secure the cashback reward, it will be credited into your account within four to eight weeks after the end of each campaign month; this will be reflected in your credit card statement, itemised under “Spend and Save with PB Visa Credit Card – Month 1 to Month 3”.

To participate in the campaign and be in the running to win the cashback rewards, send an SMS (
PBV<space>16-digit principal Visa credit card number
) to 66300. If you have multiple Visa cards with Public Bank, you are required to register only one credit card number; your expenses on all other cards will also be automatically tracked for the campaign.

Finally, note that cardholders who are enrolled in this campaign will not be eligible for other Public Bank credit card campaigns during the promotion period.

(Source:
Public Bank
)

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Nur Adilah Ramli

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    Curious Cat

    1 year ago

Do e-Wallet transactions qualify for the campaign?

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Russia-Ukraine Crisis Sends Global Markets Reeling Before Swiftly Recovering

(Image: AP)

(
Updated at 5pm, 25 Feb 2022 to include information on MOEX.
)

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has regrettably escalated into war as Russian military began its entry into its neighbouring country in what was called
“the largest ground war in Europe since World War II”
.

The global community was, understandably, stunned by the rapid development despite the tension that has been brewing between both nations for a while now. The global financial markets, too, were affected – with most major stock exchanges quickly plunging as news came out about the invasion.

Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE)

The FBM KLCI took a dive yesterday as soon as news began trickling out about the scale of the conflict, with investors quickly cashing out their investments. At 5pm yesterday, it closed 12.25 points (-0.77%) lower 1,573.89 after recovering from a day low of 1,565.24.

Surprisingly, the
FBM KLCI recovered strongly this morning
, opening at 1,586.40 – and has been gradually climbing up since. As of the time of writing, the index has risen by 22.54 points (+1.43%) to 1,596.72.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

Both the
Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 tumbled
 during a morning sell-off after Putin’s announcement; Nasdaq suffered a 3% drop at the open, whereas the S&P 500 dipped 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, too, plunged more than 800 points during intraday trading.

But similar to the FBM KLCI, US stocks were also able to shake off the effects of Russia’s invasion following the announcement of a second set of sanctions against Russia from US president Joe Biden. This will further restrict Russia’s ability to conduct business in the world’s major currencies. Biden had previously already announced
a first batch of financial sanctions on Tuesday
, aimed at Russian financial institutions, sovereign debt, and oligarchs in the country.

Moscow Stock Exchange (MOEX)

Russian stocks suffered a historic collapse on Thursday, with the MOEX wiping off about 45% its trading value at 1,690.13 – equivalent to
more than US$150 billion in value
. That said, MOEX has been seeing a massive dip since 22 February, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict began to boil and spill over.

The MOEX
temporarily suspended trading
 on all of its markets yesterday, but quickly reversed this move soon after, saying that it will “resume trading on its market at 10am”. Interestingly, MOEX also opened on on a high note today, recovering more than 20% as compared to its closing points price on 24 February 2022. However, some economists have forecasted that
“Russia will be headed for economic stagnation, if not worse”
, especially since it now faces sanctions from not only the US, but also other European countries, including the UK and Germany – but this remains to be seen.

Cryptocurrency

As expected,
the cryptocurrency market, too, plunged yesterday
 after the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensified, with the price of Bitcoin falling by more than 6% to US$34,338 and Ether by about 8.7% to US$2,300. This was a far cry from their all-time highs of US$68,990 and US$4,865, respectively – which were achieved back in early November.

However, like other global markets, the crypto market as a whole also rebounded slightly today, with Bitcoin and Ether both rising over 10% since yesterday’s lows. That said, this drop raised doubts on
Bitcoin’s worth as a store of value
, a claim that grew popular during the bull run last year. Yesterday, prices of Bitcoin and gold went in completely opposite directions, as gold prices briefly spiked up to US$1,950 – its highest since the end of 2020 – while Bitcoin tumbled.

***

As tensions continue to escalate in Ukraine even as Western nations threaten further sanctions, it remains to be seen if the swift recovery in the economic markets will stay its course.

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About THE AUTHOR

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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Get To Know The Luxury Freehold Residence Suites With Green Sanctuary In Bukit Bintang

Set to be completed in the year 2023, Bintang Suites is a 38-storey low-density luxury condominium located at Bukit Bintang. It is an exclusive freehold mixed development property that offers residents an elevated urban lifestyle surrounded by tropical greenery and luxurious conveniences.

A Symbolic District That Needs No Introduction

Bukit Bintang is a location that needs no introduction – just the mere mention of its name excites both Malaysians and tourists alike. Also known as Bintang Walk, the famous district is a bustling business hub by day and a spirited entertainment centre by night. From grabbing a bite at one of the many restaurants to taking a 5-minute walk to a luxury brand outlet; this famed Bukit Bintang routine is shared between shoppers and food-goers all the same.

Apart from hosting streets of distinguished shopping centres and eateries, Bukit Bintang is also close to educational institutions and health centres, making Bukit Bintang an exceptional location to live in, right at the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Bintang Suites, A Landmark Residence With An Iconic Postcode

Bintang Suites comprises 218 available units with 6 high-end contemporary layouts to choose from, ranging from 1-bedroom to 2-bedroom dual-key units.

Moreover,  all units are furnished with  5-star  kitchen cabinets and appliances.  Specifically,  the bathrooms are complete with a  washbasin with a  tap,  shower,  and a  water closet.  The kitchen and bathrooms are also floored with quality tiles, while the bedroom has a timber floor finish.

Type A1 and Type B1 layouts feature 1 to 2-bedroom and bathroom units that are perfect for individuals or young married couples.

Another 2 types of layouts for 1 or 2 persons are Type B2 and B4. Type B2 has a build-up of 692 sq ft while Type B4 is 755 sq ft – these layouts consist of 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom, with an additional study room.

Meanwhile,  Type  B3  and  C1D  layouts are better suited for families with children as these units are larger with 2 bedrooms & bathrooms and a larger living area. For more information on these layouts, you may reach out to a sales representative.

Closeby To The Essentials

One of the best things about living in the city is how closeby you can be to most essential services. For your medical needs, The Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre and Prince Court Medical Centre are just 75m and 110m away, respectively.

Whether you’re a family with a toddler or kids attending college, or even an educator yourself, you’re only 400m away from the University of Nottingham Teaching Centre and 650m away from EtonHouse Malaysia. INTI International College is also just a kilometre away.

And of course, for some retail therapy, you and your family can enjoy shopping at the best shopping malls in Malaysia such as Pavilion KL, Starhill Gallery, and Suria KLCC. Whenever you feel like decorating your home, IKEA is just around the corner.

Greenery In The Urban Jungle

While the hustle and bustle of city life can be exciting, sometimes all you need is some Vitamin D and Mother Nature to recharge. On weekends or even after work, breaking a sweat in the famed KLCC park with your loved ones can alleviate your stress levels and improve your mood.

If you’re a member of the Royal Selangor Golf Club or the Royal Selangor Polo Club, you’ll only be less than 200m and 2km away, respectively from your favourite sport.

Convenient Accessibility

To round up the city-living perks, Bintang Suites is also within walking distance to 3 MRT stations, namely, Bukit Bintang for your shopping needs, TRX Station for business, and Conlay Station. This gives you all the more reason to walk more for health benefits besides the convenience to commute to anywhere you need to go.

A Sky Garden, 30 Premium Facilities & More

To soak in the urban landscapes, Bintang Suites also has an exclusive sky garden as well as an array of 30 premium facilities for residents to enjoy, most of which are located on the 10th floor.

Moreover, Bintang Suites also boasts a 24-hour multi-tiered security system with round-the-clock patrols, regulated access cards, and CCTVs at all common areas to ensure that residents feel secure and protected.

***

An exclusive residence with convenient access to the best of Kuala Lumpur’s business & lifestyle hub and green sanctuary  –  the  Bintang  Suites could very well be your dream home come true.

Although Bintang Suites is not part of the ongoing Home Ownership Campaign, they are still offering up to 25% discount for the first 56 units. An offer exclusive to local buyers only, who are looking to own a luxury unit at Bintang Suites.
Register here!

For more information either head to
Bintang Suites’ website
, email
[email protected]
 or speak to a representative at +6017 634 3383 / +6012 693 5519 to view a unit!

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Katrina Balan Quiroz

Katrina Balan Quiroz

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Where To Watch World Cup 2018 In Malaysia

The world’s biggest sporting event kicks off this week, as 32 teams battle it out to be crowned the champions of the football world. The FIFA World Cup 2018 takes place in Russia this time around, and as usual, Malaysians will be able to catch the tournament live on Astro. But if you do not have Astro, or prefer to not pay to watch the matches, where to watch World Cup 2018 matches for free?

RTM

Malaysians are in for a treat this time around, as the new Malaysian government has
worked together with several partners
 to broadcast World Cup 2018 matches live on RTM, which means anyone in Malaysia can watch it for free. But, just like any other sporting event, broadcasters must apply for a broadcasting right before they can cover the World Cup on their channels. RTM’s license is a Free-To-Air (FTA) one, and it will air 27 live and 14 delayed matches out of the 64 matches throughout the tournament.

These matches will air over RTM 1 and RTM 2, which can not only be viewed on television sets, but Malaysians can also stream the
two channels online
.

Astro

Pay TV operator Astro, meanwhile, has obtained the full broadcasting rights from football governing body FIFA, allowing it to air all 64 matches live. It is also offering the broadcast both in standard and high definition resolutions, and there’s even a standalone app that lets you watch the matches in virtual reality with the
Stadium Astro VR app
 – the first time Astro has done so for the World Cup.

Astro customers who are already subscribed to the Sports Pack, SuperPack, or SuperPack Plus packages will automatically get access to the dedicated World Cup 2018 channels for free. Other Astro subscribers and NJOI prepaid customers can purchase the World Cup Channel Pass for RM100. Finally, non-Astro customers can purchase this pass for RM120, and can watch the matches via Astro GO, which can be accessed via its website and its Android and iOS apps.

The World Cup Channel Pass can be purchased
here
.

Astro GO

(Image: Soyacincau)

Most people are not aware that Astro GO (both website and app) is not actually reserved to Astro subscribers only. While subscribers will gain access to premium channels based on their respective packages,
non-Astro customers can access selected live TV channels and content for free
.

This includes Astro Arena, the channel that usually focuses on local sports content. During World Cup 2018,
Astro Arena will air 22 live matches
. The company did not disclose which matches will be aired, however.

With matches
kicking off as late as 3am
, watching World Cup matches on your phone is the perfect way to sneakily watch the matches in bed. Just make sure you have enough sleep!

Hotlink & Maxis

It has been revealed that Maxis and AirAsia are two of the main sponsors for the FTA broadcast license given to RTM, where both companies contributed a total of RM30 million. For the benefit of its customers, Maxis is offering a unique World Cup 2018 promotion for its prepaid and postpaid customers, in collaboration with Astro.

The
Maxis Bola Raya campaign
 allows customers to purchase a Astro World Cup Match Pass via the MyMaxis, Hotlink RED, or Hotlink Flex apps. This pass grants users access to one World Cup 2018 match for just RM1. Those who purchase this pass can watch the match in HD on the Astro GO app, and if you’re watching the match while on Maxis’ mobile network, the data required to stream the match is free.

If you are a Maxis or Hotlink subscriber, it makes perfect sense to purchase these passes compared to buying a World Cup Channel Pass from Astro, which costs RM100 for non-Sports Pack customers and RM120 for non-Astro subscribers. Purchasing all 64 matches via the MyMaxis, Hotlink RED, or Hotlink Flex apps would cost just RM64. That said, Astro’s World Cup Channel Pass offers 24-hour access to its dedicated World Cup 2018 channels, which airs highlights and other exclusive content in between matches.

As Soyacincau reports
, customers must purchase the pass at least 3 hours before the match kicks off. The option to purchase a pass for a match that begins in less than 3 hours will not be available. Maxis states that those who purchase the pass will be given a code within 2 hours after purchase, and this code needs to be entered at
this website
 to unlock access to the match.

Your local mamak restaurant, McDonald’s, or bar

(Image: The Hive)

Some people will agree that watching football on a small screen, alone, isn’t the best way to enjoy the match. Most Malaysian football fans spend their weekend nights watching football at their local mamak restaurants, where food is cheap, the screen is big, and the crowd is big (in the big matches). The atmosphere is not quite the same as watching the match in a stadium, but you also have the comfort of your own table and chairs. For a louder atmosphere, the neighbourhood bar is always another option.

Others prefer watching in a McDonald’s outlet. Traditionally, McDonalds – which is a FIFA World Cup partner – would air live football matches on weekends (though at low volumes). The crowd is also less, but depending on the outlet, watching matches here can be a lot more comfortable, with lots of fans in the outlet. You may also end up paying a little more for your food, compared to a mamak restaurant.

Final Words

Different football fans have different ways of enjoying the beautiful game. With the many options available, and thanks to the generous contribution of sponsors, all Malaysians will be able to enjoy World Cup 2018.

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Pang Tun Yau

Pang Tun Yau

A seasoned tech journalist who now focuses on his other passion, Pang is a firm believer in old-school DCA and optimised spending.

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CAP, Big Blue Taxi Services Call For Government To Regulate E-Hailing Fares

(Image: New Straits Times)

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Big Blue Taxi Services have both called for the government to regulate e-hailing fares in light of the recent fare hikes reported by passengers.

Specifically, CAP urged the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to set a ceiling price that is fair for both passengers and e-hailing drivers. Its president, Mohideen Abdul Kader highlighted the need for this as e-hailing services have become a necessity for many people without their own transport. He said that these people have no choice but to rely on e-hailing services as public transport is not always a feasible option.

“Take the bus as an example, it definitely costs less than getting a ride with an e-hailing service; however, the drawbacks include the long [waiting] between busses, the lack of bus stops within a reasonable distance from where someone needs to be picked up dropped off, time constraints they may have, certain health or physical distancing,” Mohideen explained.

In addition, Mohideen described the MOT’s preference to keep e-hailing fares unregulated as “baffling”, adding that the unreasonably high fares neither ease the burden of drivers nor attract more drivers to join the fleet; it only causes passengers to suffer. Additionally, he said that the reported increase in fares by 400% is already solid ground for the government to start regulating e-hailing fares.

(Image: Warga Biz)

Meanwhile, Big Blue Taxi Services called for the government to standardise e-hailing fares in order to control and monitor them, similar to the taxi industry. Its founder, Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail stated that e-hailing fares can be set according to vehicle categories, such as budget, premium, and executive,

Taxi fares are subject to ceiling prices of RM3, RM4, and RM5 per metre for the budget, premium, and executive categories, respectively. “Perhaps, if the government considers doing this [for e-hailing fares], it can prevent fares from increasing, and control it as it would benefit both the customers and drivers,” Datuk Shamsubahrin commented.

(Image: The Star/Azman Ghani)

E-hailing operators were recently shoved into the spotlight following reports that e-hailing fares had skyrocketed during peak hours. It was identified that
supply-and-demand imbalance, and a higher traffic volume, were the primary causes of the fare hikes
.

In relation to that,
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong warned e-hailing operators that their licences can be suspended or revoked
 if they violate the permitted surcharge amount. To clarify, e-hailing fares are made up of the base fare and surcharge; while the government does not regulate the base fare, it was agreed that the surcharge rate must not exceed two times the base fare.

(Source: New Straits Times [
1
,
2
])

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Jeram Assemblyman Offers Up To RM3,000 For A Specific RM1 Banknote

(Image: The Star)

Jeram assemblyman Mohd Shaid Rosli made waves on social media when he made a Facebook post offering up to RM3,000 for a particular RM1 bank note, which he hopes to add to his collection of old Malaysian bank notes.

In his post, Shaid said that he is specifically searching for RM1 bank notes that were signed by the sixth governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Tan Sri Dr Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman. He also shared an image of the note that he is looking for, stating that he is willing to pay between RM1,000 to RM3,000 for them, depending on the condition of the note.

“If you happen to have the one with the same signature as the ones in the picture, I want to buy it for RM1,000. If it is in good condition, I would buy it for RM2,000, and if the note is in mint condition and looks just like the picture below, I would buy it for RM3,000. Please inform me if you happen to have it, thank you,” said Shaid in the post that has since been removed from public viewing.

(Image:
Warisanumistik
)

As of yesterday evening, the post had gained more than 1,000 likes and over 2,000 shares on the social media platform. Several social media users who collected bank notes also responded to Shaid with pictures of their own collection in the comment section, although some jokingly questioned the authenticity of the post.

Shaid then followed up with a second Facebook post to share more about his hobby as a bank note collector, stating that he has been collecting old Malaysian notes for more than 20 years. He also said that the hobby has the
potential to generate income
, citing his friend – who earned over RM10,000 per month through the hobby – as an example.

“My focus is on our nation’s old money only, unlike others who collect old money from different countries. Also, not many know that three years ago, Bank Negara issued RM60 and RM600 notes as well. The price is estimated to be around RM50,000 nowadays,” Shaid added in his second post, which also contained images of several old Malaysian bank notes that Shaid had collected over the years.

(Sources:
Mohd Shaid Rosli
,
Malay Mail
)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

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Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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What Can You Claim Under Your Travel Protection?

Savvy travellers will be familiar with subscribing travel protection to safeguard their upcoming trips. It’s easy to assume that when we’re on holiday, everything will be smooth sailing and we come home refreshed and filled with joyful memories.

That’s not always the case, and that’s where travel protection kicks in. If something were to happen – from something as minor as luggage delay to life-threatening emergencies, a proper travel protection, be it travel insurance or travel takaful, can be really helpful.

Here are some instances where your travel protection plan can provide compensation.

1) Travel inconveniences: flight delays, lost luggage, travel misconnections, and more

Whether we like it or not, travel inconveniences are bound to happen – even if we’ve taken the necessary precautions. Flight delays are especially common at busy airports, and we’ve all heard of someone who’s had their luggage damaged or even lost by the airline.

These circumstances, and other inconveniences such as flight overbooking, travel misconnection, and more are almost always covered by a travel protection plan. For every travel inconvenience you experience in your trip, you can claim for compensation and receive a payout, with few supporting documents required.

That said, be sure to take a closer look at your contract wordings. Eligibility for travel or luggage delay, for example, always has a minimum time frame before kicking in – it’s usually at least 5 hours.

2) Emergency medical and dental expenses

While compensation for travel inconveniences are great to have, a travel protection plan genuinely comes in useful when something more serious happens during your trip.

Whether it is a road accident, a stroke, or even a serious case of food poisoning, medical treatment abroad can leave bad memories and potentially long-lasting damage to one’s finances.

When you’re covered by a travel protection plan, you can claim for all eligible medical expenses you’ve incurred while on your trip. Some travel protection plans, such as MHinsure, have a “Cashless Hospitalisation Admission” feature which guarantees medical expenses on your behalf and settling claims directly with the hospital or other medical/service provider wherever possible. This eliminates the hassle of claiming the expenses when you return.

3) Accidental death/disablement and repatriation costs

For the absolute worst-case scenario, a travel protection plan offers financial assistance for accidental deaths and disablement if they occur during the covered trip. In addition, the plan will also provide financial compensation to assist with the repatriation of mortal remains.

There is always a time frame to make these claims, however. If you miss it, you won’t be able to get any compensation. So do read the contract wordings to make sure.

4) Loss of travel documents

Another common nightmare occurrence, especially for those visiting popular cities. Pickpockets tend to target tourists as easy targets for many obvious reasons, but they usually take more than what they need – in this case, it’s usually things like your passport and other travel documents. This not only leaves you broke in a foreign land, but also be unable to return home unless you find your way to the embassy and issue a temporary document.

While a travel protection plan will not protect you from being pickpocketed, you can be comforted not only by the fact that you can get some of the money you lost back via compensation, but some plans also offer something called “lost passport assistance”. As its name suggests, the insurer may provide a hotline or service to assist customers with the procedure to obtain a temporary passport to return home with.

Get Protected With MHinsure

We may take all the necessary precautions before our trip, but a lot of things are quite simply out of our control. That’s why having travel protection is really important to safeguard ourselves from the unpredictable.

MHinsure by Malaysia Airlines offers comprehensive travel protection at affordable prices, and can be subscribed by those travelling on Malaysia Airlines as well as other airlines, too. MHinsure offers three travel protection plans (Basic, Value, and Premier) that include a wide range of benefits, such as:

Luggage Delay Benefit up to RM1,500

Travel Delay Benefit up to RM4,200

Travel Misconnection Benefit up to RM1,200

Emergency Medical and Dental Expenses Benefit up to RM1 million

Accidental Death Benefit up to RM500,000

Repatriation Benefit up to Unlimited

Loss of Travel Documents Benefit up to RM5,000

MHinsure also offers Syariah-compliant travel protection, making Malaysia Airlines the only airline in Malaysia to offer travel takaful products. Additionally, passengers can earn 1 Enrich Mile for every RM1 spent on an Annual Travel Protection plan.

Check out
MHinsure
 for more information on its travel protection plans.

Terms & conditions apply

MHinsure Travel Insurance is underwritten by Etiqa General Insurance Berhad (9557-T) (Licensed under Financial Services Act 2013 and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia) with assistance provided by Cover-More.

MHinsure Travel Takaful is underwritten by Etiqa General Takaful Berhad (1239197-A) (Licensed under Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia) with assistance provided by Cover-More.

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Join Us In RinggitPlus’ Latest Unbox This Week Campaign For Gifts Worth RM599 And More

Welcome back to another week of RinggitPlus’ Unbox This Week campaign, where we present you with great weekly flash deals from different bank partners all the way until the end of this year. If you’re not yet familiar with our campaign, here’s the basic idea: apply for selected credit cards from the featured banks of the week through us, and you’ll be able to win some pretty exciting prizes.

To give you an idea of what we’ve gifted away so far, our customers have had the chance to win rewards such as the
Lenovo Tab 7 and Xiaomi AirDots (worth RM548)
, the
Sony PS5 console
, and even an
RM1,000 cash giveaway
!

In Week 6 of our campaign (30 November – 3 December), the featured banks are
Standard Chartered Bank
 and
RHB Bank
 – with the following gifts to be won!

Standard Chartered: Lenovo M8 (Gen 2) HD

Apply for specific cards from Standard Chartered with us, and you’ll be able to win a guaranteed gift of the Lenovo M8 (Gen 2), worth RM599. Once your application is approved, you’ll also need to activate the card within 30 days to qualify for the gift. When the bank has informed us of your eligibility for the campaign, we will then send you a redemption code to claim your prize within 28 days.

A reminder, though: existing cardholders or individuals who hold any Standard Chartered credit cards within the past six months are not qualified for this campaign.

Head on over here to apply for your
new Standard Chartered credit card
 and win this exclusive prize.

RHB: RM600 Lazada e-Voucher (First 50 customers)

If you’re one of the first 50 customers to apply for selected credit cards from RHB with us this week, you’ll stand a chance to win a Lazada e-voucher worth RM600. Provided on a first-come first-served basis, you’ll also be required to activate your new card within 30 days upon approval. We will announce the 50 winners on our Facebook page by 28 February 2021, so be sure to keep an eye out!

Not one of the 50 winners? Don’t worry, you’ll still get to walk away with a Lazada e-voucher worth RM50! Both the RM600 and RM50 Lazada e-vouchers will be sent to you via SMS within 30 days of you complying with the fulfilment criteria.

That said, do note that current cardholders and those who have cancelled their RHB credit cards within a year prior to this campaign are not eligible for our campaign. Otherwise, you can apply for your
RHB credit card here
.

***

As always, make sure to start your credit card application with us via our WhatsApp chatbot so that your eligibility for the Unbox This Week campaign is guaranteed! This is also to ensure that we can easily reach out to you to assist you in your application along the way.

Another note: this week’s giveaway is slated to end on 3 December, so don’t wait if you’re excited about the gifts! Alternatively, you can check in with us again next week for more deals, or follow us on our
Facebook page
 to get the latest updates on our Unbox This Week offers.

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Standard Chartered Removes Points To Cash Redemption For Rewards Programme

Standard Chartered Bank has removed the Points To Cash redemption feature from its Credit Card 360 Redemption portal. This change will come into effect on 3 June 2021.

The Points To Cash feature allows you to convert your Standard Chartered credit card rewards points into cash at a specific rate, which varies from card to card. Standard Chartered has three rewards credit cards – the
 Standard Chartered Visa Platinum
,
Standard Chartered Platinum Mastercard
, and the
Standard Chartered Priority Banking Visa Infinite
.

“We have an array of gifts, vouchers and airmiles made available for redemption. Login to
our 360° Rewards Redemption portal
 to view the redemption catalogue,” said Standard Chartered in its revision notice.

Do note that this revision does not affect the
Standard Chartered WorldMiles World Mastercard
, which earns you WorldMiles for your spend, not rewards points. WorldMiles cardholders have their own version of the feature dubbed WorldMiles To Cash, and Standard Chartered has not yet announced any changes here.

If you have any questions about this revision, you can contact Standard Chartered with your enquiries via email at
[email protected]
 or
Click To Chat
 between 9am to 12 midnight daily.

(Source:
Standard Chartered
)

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Jacie Tan

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Opensignal Report Reveals Maxis And Celcom Have The Best Mobile Networks In Malaysia

(Image: abcnews.go)

According to the latest Opensignal Mobile Network Experience Report, Maxis and Celcom are the top two mobile networks in Malaysia due to strong performance in their 4G networks as well as network quality.

Opensignal is a mobile analytics company that analyses consumer mobile experience to understand consumers’ receive on wireless networks. Every six months, it conducts the Mobile Network Experience Report in Malaysia, with data collected from hundreds of thousands of devices of Malaysian smartphone users. For the April 2019 report, Opensignal collected and analysed 1,912,501,331 measurements from as many as 745,000 devices from 1 December 2018 till 28 February this year.

Based on the report’s findings, Celcom had the widest 4G availability at 86.8%, followed by Maxis with 83.2%. For video experience, both Maxis and Celcom had a similar score, while Maxis trumped Celcom on download speed, with an average of 17.9Mbps. Maxis also had the lowest network latency at 47.2ms while Lower latency allows web pages to load faster and also reduces lag in real time communications and mobile gaming.

Overall, Maxis and Celcom dominated across all metrics measured by Opensignal, with Digi consistently scoring third. The report also revealed that U Mobile and Unifi Mobile’s 4G networks are the weakest among all telcos in Malaysia, as the two telcos placed in the last spots in every metric measured. Lastly, while this isn’t a metric measured by Opensignal, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the more expensive the telco’s prepaid and postpaid plans are, the better their networks performed – the report’s findings clearly back this observation.

Check out Opensignal’s website for the full
Mobile Network Experience Report (April 2019)
.

(Sources:
SoyaCincau
,
Lowyat.net
)

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Start Making Smart Financial Decisions From The Get-Go - Here’s Why And How

Just like saving, the habit of making smart financial decisions should be practiced as early as possible – and better late than never. This is especially true for those who have just started to venture into the working world after graduating college or university. The newfound sense of independence may feel like a honeymoon and it can be tempting to splurge your hard-earned money on impulse purchases.

So when do you know which decision is better? While smart financial decisions are unique to each individual according to their current situation – there are some instances where certain decisions made can universally bring good to everyone. These smart financial decisions may help keep you on track towards bigger financial goals, help prevent your finances from snowballing into negative debts, and allow you to build a good financial standing from the get-go.

To help you get started on the right foot, here’s a collection of personal finance tips to help you make better decisions.

Start Saving Today or Splurge Now, Save Later?

Saving for emergency funds should be a part of your monthly commitment, regardless of the amount that you can afford to set aside each month. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned. You can also try the concept of “paying yourself first” where after receiving your monthly salary, set aside a certain portion of your income for savings and plan your expenses according to what’s left. It is advisable to save about 6 months’ worth of your monthly expenses to prepare you for emergencies.

Save Hard or Save SMART?

If you have been budgeting all your expenses without a miss – but still find yourself unable to achieve a certain financial goal, you might want to relook into your saving method. Try SMART saving which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based saving. Your financial goal should have these SMART qualities that can enable you to save more efficiently.

Here’s an example of a SMART financial goal:
 In 3 years, I want to save RM50,000 to make a down payment for my dream home.

This goal is specific as it covers the exact amount of money to save within a specific time frame. The goal to make a down payment for a home is also realistic, and therefore is achievable.

Should You Wait Until You’re Earning More To Start Reducing Your Debt?

Start working on reducing your debt as soon as you can instead of letting it accumulate over time. Most loans when accumulated will result in higher repayment amounts due to incurred interest rates, if applicable.

Especially for fresh graduates, your biggest repayment commitment could be a student loan such as PTPTN or MARA. It is understandable to want to wait until you are earning more before you start repaying your loan, but irregular and late repayment can affect your credit score. In an extreme case, you could also be blacklisted and restricted from travelling overseas.

Meanwhile, for credit card debts, be sure to immediately repay them in full as soon as you can to avoid it snowballing into a bigger amount to be cleared at the end of the month.

Keep To Budget-Friendly Rentals

We’ve all been through this scenario before in the early days of our careers; we get our first paycheck and with a lump sum of money in our hands, we want to spend it all on the biggest house, the nicest car, or whatnot, and forgo what’s truly important at the end of the day – our future and financial security.

When planning your budget, you can start with the biggest number on your expenses sheet, which would probably be your home rental, especially when you are a recent graduate. Paying more than what you need to for rent would not only leave a huge dent in your pockets every month but also might delay your journey towards home ownership. Hence, it’s important to set a budget for your rental which you can easily do nowadays via online calculators that will compute specified amounts tailored to your income and other living expenses.

Building Your Credit Score: How To Start?

To elaborate on the credit score briefly mentioned above, a credit score is a number that denotes how credit-worthy an individual is. Your creditworthiness is evaluated based on your credit history; which includes your payment history, credit mixture that you currently have, length of your credit history, and more. Banks use this as an indicator of whether you can be trusted to repay the credit on time.

A good credit score will help you go a long way in the future when you plan to make bigger financial commitments such as applying for a credit card with a higher credit limit or purchasing your first home. On a side note, having no debt does not equal having a good credit score either, as there is no record that could prove your creditworthiness.

You can start building your credit score by paying your PTPTN or MARA repayment regularly and on time. Besides that, you can also apply for an entry-level credit card to consolidate and auto-bill all your monthly expenses to be paid on time. However, being disciplined and paying your credit card bill on time is crucial, or it could backfire and impact your credit score negatively.

Earn As You Spend or Spend And Earn Nothing?

The answer to this should come easily because after all, who doesn’t like receiving extra benefits such as bonus points, cashback, and gifts on top of their spending? You get to accumulate bonus points or cashback that would translate into more savings over time for every spending or payment that you have to do anyway.

Thanks to digital technology these days, you can easily earn these extra benefits just by making payments using your debit card, credit card, or e-wallet although the value of these benefits differs according to the providers.

Take the
CIMB e Credit Card,
 for example, which offers cardholders rewards everyday for both online and offline spending.

The CIMB e Credit Card offers 5x Bonus Points (BP) on most of the essential online transactions these days which include online shopping, auto-billing expenditure (for example, household bills, insurance premium, monthly PTPTN repayment), and e-wallet reloads although contactless and ordinary PIN payments will grant only 1x BP.

The highlight of the CIMB e Credit Card, however, lies on the 10th of every month which is also called the eDay. On eDay, instead of 5x BP, you will get 12x BP plus exceptional deals with Featured Partners and 10x BP with other merchants when spending on online shopping, auto-billing expenditure, and e-wallet reloads. Contactless payment via tap will also grant users 12x BP and 10x BP for Featured Partners and other merchants respectively, with the PIN method remaining at 1xBP.

So, what can you do with your Bonus Points (BP)?

You can use your BP to redeem cashback from the CIMB rewards catalogue and take advantage of the CIMB e Credit Card’s feature “Pay With Points” to settle your credit card account balance or offset your payment with participating merchants. Furthermore, CIMB boasts its conversion rate of 400 Bonus Points to redeem RM1 as the best bonus points conversion in comparison with the other banks in Malaysia.

This means that with every payment made with CIMB e Credit Card, you also earn benefits that help you save more. And the best part is that the CIMB e Credit Card is an entry-level card that comes with a minimum annual income requirement of RM24,000 or RM2,000 per month – suitable for fresh graduates and those who have just entered the workforce.

Enjoy 0% Flexi Payment Plan (FPP) For A Limited Time Only

Good news for CIMB e Credit Card and other CIMB Bank credit cards holders. From 1 August – 30 September 2021, you will be able to enjoy a 0% Flexi Payment Plan with a minimum spend of RM500 in a single transaction, on these spend categories; Education, Health, and Medical, and any online spend.

With CIMB Bank 0% FPP, you can now buy the latest gadgets from Shopee, the ergonomic working chair that you always wanted from Lazada, or the outfit you’ve been eyeing from ZALORA and break your payments into 12-month instalment with ZERO fees & charges. That way, you can still maintain your monthly cash flow and make payments for your necessities.

The campaign will run for 2 months only, so don’t miss out and fill the cart with your must-have items today. Once you have met the minimum spend, you will receive an SMS from CIMB Bank. Reply to the SMS to enjoy 0% FPP. It’s that simple!

***

So there you have it – when faced with financial choices, make the decisions that will put you on the path of a healthy financial journey. If you would like to find out more about the
CIMB e Credit Card, you can do so here.

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5 Places to Get Cheaper CNY Decorations

Ask any of your friends who are celebrating Chinese New Year and they’ll tell you that when it comes to selecting ornaments to beautify their home, it is essential for these ornaments to carry desirable qualities as a part of a customary tradition to attract success, prosperity, and happiness into the household.

Although it is a given that items that are red and gold in colour will remain as the core selections when it comes to decorating the household for an auspicious year, there also other elements that are taking into consideration such as fengshui as well as numerology.

If you haven’t started on your CNY décor shopping yet, fret not as we have listed down 5 places you can get your CNY Shopping on without busting your budget.

Kaison

Incepted in 2008, Kaison’s origins began with them dabbling in the home furnishing retail business with a focus on ‘Making Good Design Affordable to as Many People as Possible’. If you haven’t stepped into a Kaison shop yet, don’t let its classy exterior hold you back from entering the premise.

From artificial flowers to unique cut and sewn cushion with auspicious wordings, Kaison’s fresh take on seasonal products ensures that you get to stay true to your roots without compromising on style nor budget.

Location : Available throughout the Klang Valley and major cities in Malaysia.

Opening hours : 10 am – 10 pm (varies according to mall opening hours)

Mr DIY

With over 330 stores throughout Malaysia, Mr DIY carries over 20,000 products ranging from household items like hardware to home décor, making it a popular place for Malaysians to visit especially during times of festivities. One of the most popular places to score for uniquely designed ang pow packets at low prices, Mr DIY’s selection of CNY goods are so eye-catching that you’ll end up buying something even if you don’t intend to do so in the first place.

Don’t have time to visit a physical shop? No worries, they are also available online via
Shopee
. Do note that some things are bound to run out since most of the items are priced affordably so if there’s anything that catches your eye, you may want to add it into your shopping cart before it’s gone for good!

Location : Available throughout the Klang Valley and major cities in Malaysia.

Opening hours : 9 am – 9 pm

Nan Thong Gifts and Décor

Ask any kid who’s born in the 80s and they’ll tell you that Chinese New Year preparations won’t be complete without a visit to Jalan Sultan to get the freshest produce and cheapest goods in town. Although prices have since surged the arrival of tourists in Petaling Street, the products surrounding the area are still among the best in Klang Valley. Drop by Nan Thong Gifts and Décor, a specialty shop that stocks up on seasonal decorative items and gifts that is popular with both retail and corporate buyers.

Location : No 99, Jalan Sultan, 50000, Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours : 9.30 am – 8.00 pm

Read Also :
 How Much to Give in a Chinese New Year “Ang Pow”?

Kedai Alat Jahit Sin Wah

Having started out as a mom-and-pop shop supplying sewing and handicraft materials, Kedai Alat Jahit Sin Wah is synonymous with the PJ crowd as the go-to place for all things related to Chinese New Year be it lanterns, floral arrangements, gold ingots and even Chinese fortune cats (also known as maneki neko in Japanese culture). The only thing that you would need to be worried about is finding parking around the area as is after all, in PJ Old Town where public parking spaces are limited.

Location : No.64, Jalan 1/19, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours : 9.30 am – 9.00 pm

Contact No : 019-662 1221

Floristika

Owned by Far East Flora Pte Ltd Singapore, an integrated floriculture company with decades of experience, Floristika carries imported fresh-cut flowers, artificial silk floral, ceramic vases, glassware and floral accessories at value for money prices. Satisfied past customers describe it as the best place to get flowers in Kuala Lumpur, the only catch is that you would need to arrive early or risk facing difficulties in seeking for parking.

Location : No 16 Jalan Liku, Off Jalan Riong, 59100 Bangsar

Opening hours : 8 am – 8.30 pm

We hope that you have found this article in helping you locate for cheap decorations that you can use for Chinese New Year. Just make sure that all your purchases are made with a rewards credit card so that you can harness the full benefits that it comes with.

And if you feel that the array of credit cards available in the market is making it difficult for you to decide, no worries. All you need to do is to check out our
 comparison tool
 on our website and discover which credit card is a perfect match to your spending style.

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Chinese New Year

Floristika

Home Decoration

Kaison

MR.DIY

Nan Thong Gifts and Decor

About THE AUTHOR

Arnie Ruxana

Arnie Ruxana

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Your E-Wallet’s P2P Transfer Feature Will Be Disabled Upon Receiving RM30 Credit

Malaysians who have received the RM30 e-wallet credit as part of the
e-Tunai Rakyat initiative
 will find that the e-wallet’s peer-to-peer (P2P) funds transfer feature is locked until they have used up the RM30 credit.

First spotted by SoyaCincau, the imposed lock appears to be the quickest way to ensure that Malaysians use the RM30 credit and not transfer the credit out to a friend or even a bank account (which is possible on Boost). This fact was stressed several times since Budget 2020, that
the RM30 credit was to be consumed by using e-wallets
.

On Grab, the “Transfer” feature is removed completely for those who received their RM30 e-Tunai Rakyat credit. Boost, on the other hand, only locks the feature when a user with RM30 e-Tunai Rakyat credit attempts a P2P transfer.
We expect TNG eWallet will display a similar behaviour.
 A Facebook user has revealed that P2P transfers will not be disabled on TNG eWallet. It looks like the e-wallet is able to separate the e-Tunai Rakyat credit from the user’s own credit, and so the P2P transfer can be used only for the user’s credit (and not the RM30 e-Tunai credit).

(Source: SoyaCincau)

(Source: SoyaCincau)

While we cannot confirm this ourselves since our RM30 credit still haven’t been credited to our e-wallets, numerous users have confirmed this on social media.

In a response to SoyaCincau, Grab states that the Transfer and Request features will be restored once the RM30 credit has been fully utilised. To assist users, the Grab app will also display a user’s remaining e-Tunai Rakyat credit and its expiry date.

Nevertheless, since this affects all three e-wallets, it should not affect your decision for which e-wallet to claim your e-Tunai Rakyat RM30 credit from. If you are still undecided, here’s
what Boost, Grab, and TNG eWallet are offering as additional perks
 if you choose their e-wallet.

(Source:
SoyaCincau
)

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e-wallet P2P transfer

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Touch 'n Go eWallet

About THE AUTHOR

Pang Tun Yau

Pang Tun Yau

A seasoned tech journalist who now focuses on his other passion, Pang is a firm believer in old-school DCA and optimised spending.

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