HLB Will Soon Use AppAuthorise To Verify Online Transactions Instead Of SMS TAC

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has announced that it is upgrading its AppAuthorise security feature, which will soon replace SMS TAC as the method to authorise customers’ online transactions on the HLB Connect app and website.

“AppAuthorise is being upgraded and you will no longer need to wait for SMS TAC to authorise your HLB Connect Online and Mobile Banking transaction. With the new AppAuthorise, all it takes is a single tap on the HLB Connect App to complete your payments and transfers,” shared the bank in its announcement page. It did not, however, reveal a precise date as to when this change is set to take effect, stating instead that it is “coming soon”.

HLB also clarified that once this update kicks in the near future, SMS TAC will only be required for several selected functions, namely when you:

Make new HLB Connect registrations, or upgrade existing HLB Connect accounts
Reset or change your HLB Connect username and/or password
Change your HLB Connect security question
Log in to HLB Connect app on a new device for the first time
Switch your AppAuthorise to a new device

At present, the AppAuthorise feature is used to authorise only online payments or transfers of RM10,000 and above to recipients who are not saved under your Favourite List. A push notification will be sent to you when you carry out such transactions, and you can then authorise or reject them via your HLB Connect app. Meanwhile, payments that are less than RM10,000 are currently authorised using SMS TAC.

With this, it would appear that HLB is following in Maybank’s footsteps, who has also begun to implement its
Secure2u security feature
 as the preferred method to approve online transactions carried out via the Maybank2u website, as well as the Maybank2u and MAE by Maybank2u mobile apps. Maybank’s Secure2u feature is also tied to its mobile banking apps, instead of relying on SMS to provide customers with their TAC. Currently, all online Maybank transactions of RM1,000 and above must be verified using Secure2u.

(Source:
Hong Leong Bank
)

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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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    edward

    4 months ago

boycott hlb

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Renting vs Buying A House: Why Not Both?

We’re all familiar with this question as it relates to property: should you rent or buy? Each of them have their own benefits and disadvantages to pay attention to, and the answer to this largely depends on what you want to do with the property and what you can afford. However, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to choose?

Renting A House Means…

One major advantage of renting is that it’s
more easily attainable
 than having to buy a whole property. You don’t have to pay a 10% downpayment, and there are no stamp duties or processing fees attached to your rental.

Renting also means you get to enjoy greater
mobility and flexibility
. Should you need to move out for whatever reason, you can just terminate your contract and stop renting without having to continue paying every month.

…But Renting Also Means

You don’t get to own the property even if you keep renewing the contract for years. Even if you have the chance to buy the home you’ve been renting, its value would have appreciated greatly. A RM500,000 house could increase to RM680,000 in 6 years.

Buying a House Means…

You get to own the property
. You can do whatever you want with the house. Having a place to truly call your own is hugely gratifying and an important milestone in many people’s lives.

Another advantage is that
you can sell it later for profit
. If the property increases in value, you can sell the place off and make a tidy profit.

…But Buying Also Means

It’s going to
cost you a lot more
. As mentioned, you have processing fees, stamp duties, legal fees, not to mention the downpayment that is often the largest chunk of your upfront costs.

You’re also going to be stuck in
a long term commitment
. Home loan tenures range from 5 to 35 years and often come with a lock-in period where even if you want to exit the term early, you’ll have to incur penalties.

For the longest time, deciding between these two choices has always meant enjoying its benefits while enduring the disadvantages. But now there’s a third option…

HouzKEY – The Best of Both Worlds

To address this dilemma, Maybank Islamic Bhd has rolled out HouzKEY. A new rent-to-own scheme for the general public, currently available for Klang Valley properties. It’s an alternative solution for home ownership through a scheme which
only requires three months rental deposit
 before customers can move into their dream home. For a RM500,000 home, you only need to come up with RM 8,000 as your initial cost instead of a hefty RM50,000.

Flexibility

Option 1: Buy the House at a Lower Price

After renting for at least a year,
you are given the option to purchase the property at a pre-agreed price
 that’s set when you first pay your rent. In addition, your monthly rental will progressively be used to offset the principal price. Not only does this mean you get to buy a property without having to put down 10% as downpayment, you also stand to buy it at a lower price should the property increase in value after your first year of paying rent.

Option 2: Don’t Buy the House at All

After you sign the agreement, the property is locked in at a fixed rental price for 5 years and you can seamlessly convert to a Maybank home financing after a year of renting. You also
have the option to continue renting if you want
, with a 2% step up after the 5th year until your tenure is over or walk away with no further obligation.

Option 3: Sell the House

There is also an option to
cash out
. This option allows you to request Maybank to sell the property to a third party buyer at market value. The gains between the pre-agreed price at that point in time and the sale value will be 100% yours. For example, at Year 6, your locked-in price with HouzKEY is RM500,000 while the property’s current market value is RM678,635 (based on assumption of 6.30% p.a.). That’s a gain of RM107,026 just for you! This benefit allows you the freedom to sell off the property if you want and move to another home at any time after the 1-year rent period.

So not only does this offer you the
flexibility
 of moving around if you so choose, it also offers you the choice to purchase the property if you want. HouzKEY’s monthly payment is within the range of a typical loan repayment. BUT you get to enjoy a more flexible arrangement with all the options offered. You can rent the property until you’re ready to make a purchase. No lock-in periods and no long term commitment necessary. Win-win.

You can browse through
 their online portal
 to check out a range of properties from established developers like EcoWorld Bhd, SP Setia, Mah Sing Properties, Sime Darby Property, Gamuda Land, and many others. Their web portal also lets you apply and submit supporting documents entirely through your web browser, with a quick approval time of within 24 working hours.

So it looks like you no longer have to choose between renting and buying. With Maybank Islamic’s HouzKEY, you can rent until you’re ready to buy. If you’re interested, their official web portal is
 open for applications right now.

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Economy Minister: Cabinet Approved Progressive Wage Policy, Details To Come In Budget 2024

(Image: Bernama)

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that the Cabinet has approved the progressive wage system policy, but further details will only be shared during the tabling of the upcoming Budget 2024.

“The policy has been approved in principal as well as the approach, and then we have to go through a series of processes including bringing down to all stakeholders and the level of coverage for specific group. Thereafter, we will translate it into the financial commitment that the government has to do and we will go through in the budget process,” said the minister, adding that the system is expected to be implemented sometime in April or May 2024.

Aside from sharing that the progressive wage system policy has been approved, Rafizi also commented that the upcoming national budget will focus on the development of states to bridge the economic gap between different areas in Malaysia. Accordingly, the government has divided Malaysia’s states into three categories based on their needs to facilitate this process.

(Image: Malay Mail/Choo Choy May)

The first group consists of states like Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis – which must be prioritised for development, while the second involves states that are adequately developed and do not need much capital injection from the federal government (such as Penang, Selangor, and Kuala Lumpur). Meanwhile, the third group is comprised of states that fall somewhere in the middle, like Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, and Malacca.

“This is also a change that we are refining because we also need to be fair to certain states such as Perak, Negeri Sembilan, and Malacca,” said Rafizi.

Budget 2024 is expected to be tabled in the Parliament on 13 October 2023.

(Source:
The Sun Daily
)

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CUEPACS Urges All Civil Servants To Contribute to Tabung Harapan

(Image:
NST
)

The Congress of Unions of Employees in Public And Civil Service (CUEPACS) recently announced a proposal to encourage civil servants to make a one-off contribution to the Tabung Harapan.

According to CUEPACS president Datuk Azih Muda, the proposal, which was agreed in its first congress meeting on 26 June, encourages civil servants to donate at least RM10 to the Tabung Harapan either via salary deduction in August or direct donations to their respective department heads.

Besides that, Datuk Azih Muda said he will raise this proposal to the Chief Speaker of the Government in order to extend the proposal to all government agencies. He added that CUEPACS is aiming to raise around RM10 million in contribution as there are 1.6 million civil servants in the country.

(Source:
The Edge
 and
NST
)

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4 Terrible Reasons to Take Out a Personal Loan

Some times you just need a solid chunk of money to help you out with things and that’s fine. There are plenty of personal loans out there with affordable interest rates and fast approval that can really be useful for you in a jam.

However, just because they’re handy doesn’t mean it’s good to use them every single time you need some extra cash. Here are some situations you should never take out a personal loan for, to maintain a healthy cash flow and financial stability.

Financing a Car

Thinking of buying a relatively cheap car in cash with a personal loan? Think again. You won’t be saving much money by doing this since personal loan interest rates are on average, much higher than the interest rates for a regular hire purchase. Furthermore,
car loans
 are secured loans where the collateral is the car itself. Making it much easier for lenders to approve you for it. Don’t take out a personal loan to buy a car, it’s silly.

Paying for Your Vacation

So you’ve planned out your itinerary, places to visit, activities, and everything but you haven’t budgeted out
the cash you need to spend on it
? Taking out a personal loans is a terrible move to make in order to fix this problem. Why? Because vacations are luxury expenses that you can actually wait and properly plan for. You shouldn’t get into debt just to have some fun. And if it’s a really important family outing you’ve planned out, waiting a little more until you’ve saved enough would be more than worth the potential headache the debt will give you.

Expected Major Expenses

Moving to a new house and need money for furniture, time to replace that broken car part, or a pricey procedure for grandma is coming up? These are expenses you can foresee in your calendar, which means you could have saved up some money to prepare for them. It might make sense to take out a loan if you’re really in an emergency, but it would be better if these kinds of predictable expenses are saved up for. Especially since you know they’re coming.

Consolidating a Loan with a Higher Interest Rate

Loan consolidation is a good way to manage down your debts, but it can turn bad quickly if you don’t pay attention to the interest rates. Remember that when you’re
consolidating your debt
, the new interest rate should be lower than the highest interest rate of your current commitments. Otherwise you’ll be paying just one bill, which is simpler, but it will cost you much more, which is the opposite of simpler.

So When
Should
 You Take Out a Personal Loan?

Just because we’re cautioning you against taking loans for the above reasons doesn’t mean that personal loans are all bad. There are of course plenty of times where a personal loan is precisely the right thing you need.

In the cases of
unavoidable personal emergencies
 like replacing essential items during a natural disaster, necessary house repair, or other sudden large expenses, a personal loan can be a lifesaver. Especially if you don’t yet have a
sizable emergency fund
. Just remember to read the terms carefully so you don’t lock yourself into a commitment you can’t comfortably follow through on.

Another scenario would be if you’re trying to consolidate multiple debts under one loan and the
interest rates are favourable
 or more manageable than before. Our tip says to never do this when the interest rates are worse than the individual debts, but when it isn’t, you should definitely do so as it helps a lot.

If you’re thinking of taking a personal loan and are not quite sure if you should, a good rule of thumb is
check whether your monthly repayments reach 15% of your monthly income
. If it doesn’t, you can go ahead and apply for it. Such a percentage is manageable for most incomes and shouldn’t put you in too much of a headache. We even wrote a
full article on what to look for in a personal loan
 to make sure you’re getting the best deal for yourself.

Now that you know how to use personal loans better and what not to use them for, you can check out
the best personal loans on offer in Malaysia on our comparisons page
. Borrow responsibly and good luck out there!

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Ahmad Mudhakkir

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GrabCar Rental Service Expands To Kuala Lumpur

Grab has expanded its GrabCar rental service to Kuala Lumpur, the first location in the Klang Valley area. This service was first introduced in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as a trial run last month.

Unlike the standard GrabCar on-demand ride-hailing feature, GrabCar Rent is a limited car rental service that includes a driver, and the fee includes fuel costs and toll fares, and is charged by the hour. Customers will be able to make unlimited stops during the rental duration. Grab customers will be given a range of hourly packages to choose from depending on their needs.

Currently, GrabCar Rent is only available to book in the KLCC area, although customers will be able to travel around the Klang Valley with this service from that starting point. However, there will be extra charges for customers who want to travel to locations like Genting Highlands or KLIA/KLIA2. This service is only available from 9am to 8pm compared to the standard 24-hour GrabCar service.

Grab has yet to officially introduce this new service on its official website, but Grab users in the KL area can already see the option in the Grab app. This is likely a limited release that may see a wider rollout in the coming months.

(Source:
Lowyat.NET
)

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Malaysia's Top Online Grocery Delivery Services!

Online grocery stores are gaining much popularity, with an increasing number of households depending on them for daily necessities. However, if you’re wondering which online grocery delivery service is the best, so are we. Which is why we decided to do some research and come up with our top picks for Malaysian online grocery delivery services.

For the purposes of our evaluation, we chose to specifically talk about grocery delivery services. While there are many online delivery services that send you meals, special ingredients, or imported foodstuffs, we want to focus on services that give you your weekly groceries and nothing else. Here we go!

Redtick
 was founded back in 2010 and caters to residents in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Seri Kembangan and Puchong. Although the website has a simple layout that is easy to understand, it does look rather dated and many clicks are required before you can reach the page displaying what you’re looking for.

This lack of fluidity in navigation may put off some users. Another thing is that the prices of goods here is slightly higher than other stores. However, they do have free delivery if you buy more than RM100 worth of products. Their website does however, have special pages
for baby products
 and stationery, which will make mums and students happy.

Pros:
 Special section for baby products and stationery. Free delivery above RM100.

Cons:
 Items are slightly pricier and website needs to be more user-friendly. Cannot pay by cash

Now shoppers can enjoy Tesco’s
wide variety of groceries
 from
their online store
. Delivery is provided for those living in the Klang Valley and they charge a flat rate of RM10 for each delivery.

Tesco often has promotions and discounts on their items so that’s another plus point. The prices of Tesco’s groceries are the most affordable compared to the previous two online stores.

Pros:
 Affordable groceries

Cons:
 Flat rate delivery fee of RM10 no matter how much you spend

HappyFresh
 is a South East Asian app and website that is designed to help you shop. They don’t have their own flagship store, so they go to the supermarket nearest your home and
specially trained shoppers
 pick out groceries on your behalf. The items will then be delivered to you by a deliveryman on a bike.

HappyFresh has earned its number one spot from the fact that their website is easy to use and you’ll be able to see all the different groceries on offer immediately after you choose your area. The area covered is pretty wide too, including many places in Selangor. Delivery charges are RM8 if your order is below RM200 and free if your order exceeds RM200. Delivery within the hour is charged at RM14.

Pros:
 Delivery within one hour, cheap delivery fees, user friendly website.

Cons:
 Not the cheapest service, and they charge RM14 also if they encounter difficulties with the courier (weather, traffic, etc)

All three online grocery delivery services are great in their own ways of course, and each offer something slightly different than the others. Indeed, there are many other services that delivery groceries online, but we chose these three for the advantages the have and because of their focus on specifically delivering groceries.

We hope this list can help you make a more informed decision the next time you feel like ordering your eggs and milk from your phone. Now that you’ve seen our favourites, why not tell us yours? Did we miss out on your favourite service? Share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comments section down below!

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EPF Launches i-Invest Platform To Enable Members To Invest In Unit Trust Funds

(Image: The Star)

Eligible Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members are now able to invest their EPF savings into unit trust funds from approved Fund Management Institutions (FMIs) directly from the EPF i-Akaun portal.

Called i-Invest, this new platform addresses the biggest pain point of EPF members who wish to invest their EPF Account 1 savings into unit trusts. By integrating it into i-Akaun, members no longer need to go through paperwork processing between the EPF and the FMI. On top of that, the EPF has enforced a maximum sales charge capped at 0.5%; some funds even have 0% sales charges. This is a big deal, as unit trust sales charges may go up to 3% for offline and traditional transactions through agents.

For those below 55 years of age, they can directly invest up to 30% of the amount in excess of Basic Savings under Account 1. This eligible portion must exceed the amount of basic savings predetermined by EPF. Should members wish to do so, they can also opt to open an account with approved FMIs for investment purposes.

Meanwhile, those 55 and above can utilise i-Invest as a mode of withdrawal with their Akaun 55 or Akaun Emas, provided that they maintain a minimum of RM1,000 in their account.

According to EPF Chief Executive Officer Tunku Alizakri Alias, Malaysia’s EPF is believed to be the first worldwide to link its members’ retirement funds directly to online investment facilities. “To ensure [members] are as informed as possible, i-Invest contains tools to obtain and compare relevant information, and enables the right selection of unit trust funds that best suits our members’ savings goals,” he said.

(Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

In addition to giving members greater convenience and autonomy over their preferred investments, this scheme also allows members to look up important information about the available funds. This ranges from information
on investment costs, historical performance to statutory requirements. Such access enables members to make better and more informed investment decisions.

That said, Alizakri advised that members should be cautious in utilising i-Invest when making any investment decisions, adding that they should either first seek advice from professionals or equip themselves with the necessary information.

(Source:
EPF
)

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Economic Stimulus Package 2020: Incentives For Online Entrepreneurs And MDEC To Boost E-Commerce

(Image: Rosela Ismail)

Aside from rolling out incentives to boost local consumption and economic activity amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, the Economic Stimulus Package 2020 also aims to encourage the growth of the e-commerce industry. As such, the government will be giving out incentives to local online entrepreneurs, as well as a funding allocation for Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

Firstly, as many as 10,000 local entrepreneurs will be getting grants of RM1,000 to help them promote the sale of their products on e-commerce platforms. Aside from encouraging online trading activities and the adoption of e-commerce technology, it will also boost consumer spending among Malaysians and revitalise the local consumer market. The grants will enhance the income of the people and reduce the cost of living in the current economic fluctuation too.

Additionally, there will be an allocation of RM20 million for Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) for the Perkhidmatan e-Dagang Setempat (PeDAS) programme. The PeDAS programme is meant to transform Pusat Internet Desa/Rural Internet Centres across the country into e-commerce hubs. It will introduce digital transformation among micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas.

These incentives will ultimately contribute to the realisation of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, where several high-impact industries – including digital economy – were earmarked as key industries that will spur a sustainable economic growth.

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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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AEON Group Launches Member Plus Visa Card And AEON Wallet

AEON Group has announced that its new AEON Member Plus Visa Card and AEON Wallet are now officially available in Malaysia. Both products are designed to encourage cashless transactions, supporting Bank Negara Malaysia’s vision of a cashless society.

Originally announced in Malaysia back in June
, the
AEON Member Plus Visa Card
 combines an AEON membership card with a Visa prepaid card, simultaneously reducing the incidence of forgetting to bring your AEON card and the number of cards you carry with you. It also comes with additional benefits for members, such as double reward points, discounts and privileges, as well as making payment thanks to the prepaid functionality. Besides that, the card also supports Visa payWave for faster transactions.

If you already own an AEON card, you can now convert the old card to the AEON Member Plus Visa Card for free. The group aims to go through a complete membership conversion by 2021 for all membership cards under AEON.

Interestingly, the card is also available for Singaporeans who come to Malaysia to shop on regular basis, especially in Johor, and the transaction fees will be kept minimal. “The card transaction effected in the currencies other than the ringgit will be debited from the card member account after conversion into the local currency at a fee of one per cent and conversion rate determined by Visa,” said Kenji Fujita, managing director of AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd..

Meanwhile, the AEON Member Plus Visa Card is linked to the new
AEON Wallet
, an e-wallet app that allows customers to pay via QR code at all AEON retailer outlets including AEON, AEON Big, AEON MaxValu, AEON MaxValu Prime, and AEON Wellness. Like other mobile wallets, payment transaction history is contained in the app, negating the need for paper receipts.

Finally, there is a wide range of ways for users to top-up funds into the prepaid card and e-wallet. Users can go online and top up via internet banking as well as the Aeon Wallet app, or simply walk to any AEON retailer outlet cashier counter or AEON Credit Service ATM. The AEON Wallet app is now available for download on the
Apple App Store
 and
Google Play Store
 with top up limit of RM10,000.

(
Sources:
The Star
,
Malay Mail
)

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    ANG BENG TECK

    3 years ago

Can I ask Touch and Go to refund cash balance direct into my Aeon prepaid card ?

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Grab’s New 100+ Cities Delivery Feature Enables Deliveries For Loved Ones In Another City

Aside from introducing the
GrabUnlimited subscription pack
, Grab has also launched the beta version of a new 100+ Cities Delivery feature.

Essentially, Grab’s 100+ Cities Delivery is a dedicated service that lets you make same-day deliveries for someone who is living in another city within Malaysia – especially when you need to get last-minute gifts. These include both GrabFood and GrabMart orders. Interestingly, the feature within the Grab app also states that you can make deliveries in another country as well, but this is not yet available as the 100+ Cities Delivery feature is currently still being beta-tested.

Aside from that, Grab noted that users tapping into the new feature can use the GrabChat function to share specific delivery instructions or the recipient’s contact details with their Grab delivery partners. This way, you can ensure that your deliveries are completed safely and successfully.

Grab further clarified that the 100+ Cities Delivery feature is available in all GrabFood and GrabMart operating cities. Users are advised to make their payments for the service using cashless payment methods.

To access the 100+ Cities Delivery feature, users are currently required to scroll down within their Grab app until they arrive at the “Keep Discovering” section. From there, tap on the 100+ Cities Delivery tile, and you’ll be able to start making your orders.

(Source:
Grab
)

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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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Money Lessons Hidden in Classic Childrens' Games

It’s still the school holidays according to our calendars and that means having kids around the house more often than usual. We’ve already mentioned how you can bring children around to cheap,
unexpectedly educational spots
 and how to teach them financial responsibility with
some simple home economics exercises
.

But sometimes you have to let kids be kids. Because even as you let them play the games that kids play, they can unknowingly be teaching themselves some important money management habits at the same time.

Congkak

This game is a true classic Malay traditional game in that many youngsters nowadays probably have no clue how to play it. Unless they download the app, of course.
Congkak
, or
mancala
 as it is known in other regions, is a game where you strategically collect and redistribute seeds.

What is the Money Lesson Here?

The key to success in this game is to plan several steps ahead, such that you maximise the resources (seeds) given to you in your mission to deposit the most seeds in your storehouse. Incidentally, managing resources and knowing how to make efficient use of them is the key in optimising one’s finances. The decision-making mental muscle of deciding when to use your bank of seeds and when to hold back is not too far removed from the same ones we use to plan our budget carefully.

Trading Cards

Less traditional, but still firmly in the category of kids’ games, despite its popularity with adults is trading card games. Building a deck, trading, and collecting cards are fun pastimes that teach children (and adults alike) the simple pleasures of a complete collection and the virtues of taking good care of your collectibles.

What is the Money Lesson Here?

Trading cards with others require you not just to know the value of the cards you have, but also the perceived value that other people place on their cards versus your own. Buying and selling relies on this exact aptitude. Being able to see good opportunities for business and knowing when to sell what product to who for the most profit is a great business skill to pickup and hone.

Monopoly

Lastly, we can’t talk about games and money without mentioning the ubiquitious board game Monopoly. What better game to teach kids about finances than the most popular board game that lets children play with thousands of (fake) Ringgit?

But Monopoly Rules Don’t Really Apply to Real Life…

No, not all of the rules do. It’s mostly a fun game that happens to include terms like mortgages, rent, and salary. Which is precisely why it’s a good learning tool as it introduces children to those terms for the first time. This can pique their interest and lead them into feeding their curiousity by searching for the meaning of those terms themselves. After all, it’s better to know about banking terms in the safe environment of a board game instead of waiting for them to get hit in the face by them in the working world.

As it turns out, there are quite a lot of useful finance-related lessons to be taken from just letting kids play games. In fact, if you have some downtime yourself, why not join in with them as they play and maybe you can learn something yourself?

What other games do you think have hidden money lessons in them? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below!

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Applications For EPF i Sinar With Removed Eligibility Conditions Open Today

Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members who would like to apply for the updated i-Sinar facility without eligibility conditions can begin to do so on i-Sinar Online, starting from today until 30 June 2021. On top of that, you can also perform other functions – including amending details for your previous applications and cancelling your i-Sinar withdrawals – during this period of time.

As had been
previously announced by the EPF
, all i-Sinar applications submitted by EPF members below the age of 55 will now be given automatic approval following
the removal of eligibility conditions for the facility
. This means that they will no longer need to abide by the
previous set of application requirements
, which requires them to prove a lack of contribution to the EPF for at least 2 months, or a decrease in base or total income by a minimum of 30%. However, approval is still subject to a minimum account balance of RM150 in the member’s Akaun 1.

Meanwhile, the maximum withdrawal amount for the i-Sinar facility that was previously introduced will remain unchanged. In short, eligible members with an account balance of RM100,000 will still be able to withdraw up to RM10,000, whereas those with a balance of more than RM100,000 can take out up to 10% of their savings.

Following this update to the eligibility conditions, new i-Sinar applicants should also note that the
interim payment of RM1,000
 will now be terminated. The interim payment was originally intended as an immediate assistance for applicants who fall under Category 2, while they wait for their i-Sinar applications to be approved and verified.

Aside from reopening the submission for new i-Sinar applications, the EPF is now also allowing members to
amend certain details in their previous applications
 via i-Sinar Online. These details include the withdrawal amount, bank details, address, phone number, and payment method. Note, though, that the withdrawal amount can only be amended once, so do confirm your new preferred amount before proceeding with any changes. Also, the details for your original application will not be displayed during the amendment process for security reasons, so make sure to have a copy of your earlier application for reference if required.

As for those who would like to cancel their i-Sinar withdrawals, you can also do so via an online form on i-Sinar Online. These cancellations can only be done once, and you will not be allowed to re-apply for the i-Sinar facility again after the cancellation has been approved. The details for your earlier i-Sinar application will not be shown during the cancellation process either.

You can find out more about the i-Sinar withdrawal facility with its updated eligibility criteria in the
official i-Sinar website here
.

(Source:
EPF
)

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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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Magic Internet Money, or Bitcoin, for Muggles

Once a domain of tech geeks,
futurists
 and
libertarians
, bitcoin has been seeping into the mainstream consciousness bit by bit (excuse the pun) in recent years.

In 2012, WordPress became one of the first major online services to accept
payments
 with bitcoins. PayPal, the world’s most popular online payment platform
started processing bitcoin payments
 through it’s subsidiary Braintree in September 2014.

Microsoft followed suit last December,
announcing
 that it would begin accepting bitcoin for electronic goods sold over its Windows and Xbox network of stores. Coinbase opened the
first regulated bitcoin exchange
 January this year, with financial backing from a number of esteemed investors including Andreessen Horowitz and NYSE.

Bitcoin Wizard, from btcartgallery.com

From time immemorial, credit cards and PayPal were the de facto channels for online retailers to accept payments. Today, they can accept bitcoins using plugins offered by
Bitpay
.

So what is this magic internet money we have been reading about lately? To explain what bitcoin is with as little technical jargon as possible, let’s start by exploring the shortcomings in current methods of conducting electronic payments (the reason for it’s conception).

Shortcomings of the Trust-Based Model

Say you run your own side business selling comic books online. You started out accepting credit card payments but after suffering a string of fraudulent credit card purchases, you decided to only accept payments via a trusted-third party payment processor like PayPal.

The problem is, these third-party processors demand a small percentage of your sales as fees for facilitating the transaction. Being a fledgling business, these fees eat into your bottom line. Plus the fees make small transactions nonviable, forcing you to implement a rule where you would only sell to customers making purchases larger than RM50.

Contemporary electronic payment systems rely on a trust-based model. As a merchant, you trust your customers not to use fraudulent credit cards. Third-party payment processors eliminate most of the risk from the trust-based model but they take a cut of each sales in return for their service.

Enter Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency that allows you to conduct electronic transactions directly with your customer – without the need for any third-party – just like you would if you were selling your comic books in person.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is electronic cash in the most literal sense. A purely digital medium, bitcoin relies on cryptography – the usage of mathematical proofs to provide a layer of security – to authenticate each transaction and prevent double spending.

While it sounds like a good idea, would it not take an unimaginable amount of processing power to individually verify every transaction?

The block chain technology is the breakthrough that enables bitcoin’s existence. The block chain is a public ledger of all bitcoin transactions and is shared among all users in the bitcoin network. A block is a digital record of bitcoin transactions. A new block is added to the chain of blocks once every 10 minutes. New transactions are added to a block in the block chain.

Instead of having a single computer or entity confirming each transaction, the block chain technology allows the number crunching work to be done across a decentralized network of computers around the world.

From bitcoin.org

Computers in the bitcoin network performs the cryptographic calculations required to confirm each transaction in the block. These computers are called miners and they contribute processing power to the bitcoin network and are compensated with newly generated bitcoins for each block they solve.

Why is Bitcoin Groundbreaking?

Bitcoin is the first ever digital equivalent of physical cash.

Bitcoin negates the need for financial institutions or third-party payment processors to facilitate an electronic transaction between two parties. Bitcoin smoothes the process of making and receiving electronic payment and render it as hassle-free as possible.

You have to enter a lot of information, including your home address and occasionally a phone number when you make a credit card purchase online. It is a mechanism implemented to reduce the risk of fraud for the seller, but unfortunately creates a
potential privacy risk
 for the credit card user. With bitcoin, all you need is the seller’s bitcoin wallet address, which is just a string of alphanumeric characters.

The removal of third-party charges meant that small electronic transactions become electronically viable. I would not pay for
coffee
 or
cupcakes
 with PayPal and their vendors are unlikely to accept credit card for them. However, paying for those with bitcoins (assuming the vendor accepts bitcoins) is as simple as taking out a bank note from my wallet and handing it over to the cashier.

Bitcoin Mechanical Wallet 08 by Zoran Kutozovic

How to Use Bitcoins, the Malaysian Edition

To start using bitcoins you would need a bitcoin wallet to store your bitcoins. Storing your bitcoins is metaphorical in this context, as your wallet does not actually store any bitcoins, but rather a private key, a secret data string that grants you the right to spend the bitcoins associated with the wallet.

A bitcoin wallet also comes with an address for you to receive bitcoins from other bitcoin users. Treat your wallet like you would with a physical wallet. You wouldn’t leave your wallet lying open in a public space; likewise you should not leave your bitcoin wallet opened on your laptop or mobile unattended.

There is a large
selection
 of bitcoin wallets available for various platforms. Once you have selected your preferred wallet, it’s time to get your hands on some bitcoins.

While there are a plenty of bitcoin exchanges around the world and emerging services like
Circle
 which allows you to purchase bitcoins with your credit card, the options for purchasing bitcoins in Malaysia is rather limited at the moment.

Buying bitcoins from a reputable bitcoin exchange is one of the safest way to acquire bitcoins.

As of writing, the only bitcoin exchange operating in Malaysia is
Bitx.co
, a Singapore-based company operating bitcoin exchanges in Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya and South Africa.

Once you’ve registered and verified your identity with Bitx, you can do a bank transfer to Bitx to fund your account and start buying bitcoins from Bitx’s market.

The Future of Bitcoin

As with new technologies in their infancy stage, bitcoin has its own share of flaws. While there are a plethora of reputable bitcoin exchanges around the world, as of writing there is
only one
 regulated bitcoin exchange.

The importance of regulated exchanges could not be underscored: in 2014, the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, Mt.Gox filed for bankruptcy after losing nearly 750,000 of its customers’ bitcoins and 100,000 of its own bitcoins (together worth around $473,000,000 at that time), citing that the missing bitcoins were stolen by hackers. Mt.Gox’s spectacular collapse dragged bitcoin’s public perception together with it.

2014 was also a turbulent year for bitcoin as it lost two-thirds of its value, further reinforcing bitcoin’s reputation to be highly volatile, an unfortunate side effect of being a completely decentralized and unregulated currency.

While the
inspiration
 behind the creation of bitcoin was to create an efficient peer-to-peer electronic transaction system, bitcoin has yet to gain sufficient mainstream adoption for it to live up to its ideals.

At this point in its life, bitcoin is a bit like email in the early 1990s: while the email protocol allows you to instantly send a document, the low adoption of email – let alone personal computers – back then meant that a large percentage of your recipients are unlikely to have access to email. Paying for a courier service was still the best way to deliver an urgent document.

Despite those current shortcomings, Bitcoin has the potential to be one of the most disruptive innovation in recent times. A method for efficient peer-to-peer electronic transaction creates ripples in a multitude of industries, besides the obvious ones like e-commerce.

Bitcoin is gradually
shaking up the remittance industry
. A growing number of
small remittance providers
 are using bitcoin to reduce the cost of sending money across borders.
Mobile banking
 is taking hold in the developing world as it becomes increasingly popular for people without bank accounts use their mobile phones to conduct financial transactions. Bitcoin could impact the same demographic and become a
contender to mobile banking
.

As bitcoin adoption grows, so will the services built on top of bitcoin. Today Circle offers one of the most efficient ways to purchase bitcoins with your credit card, but only for US credit cards. It is not far-fetched to imagine Malaysians purchasing bitcoins from Circle a year or two down the road.

The current financial system was designed in the pre-internet era and it struggles to make full use of the spontaneous nature and far-reaching connectivity of the internet, as demonstrated by the legion of protocols and hassle required to mitigate the risk of fraudulent online credit card transactions. The financial sector is one of the last bastions of pre-internet institutions to be disrupted by technological innovation and bitcoin might just be the technology that transforms financial transactions for the better.

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Guo Heng

Guo Heng

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#SaveMoneyWithHann and Make RM1,000s - A Message from RinggitPlus' Co-Founder

Hi there! I’m
Hann
, the Co-Founder and Director of RinggitPlus. Our purpose since 2012 is to empower people to live a better life by making wiser financial decisions. How we do this is to
educate Malaysians
 on their financial lifestyle and provide easy
online access
 to financial products that they decided upon. Over the last few years we’ve been focused on developing the
online access
part of the site (resulting in products such as XpressApply and our Chatbot Application Process), and now we’re going back a little to our roots which is to
educate Malaysians
on their financial well-being.

The world in 2020 looks like a much scarier world than 2019. Between economic uncertainty (trade wars) and a global pandemic (Covid-19), Malaysia also had an unexpected change of government just recently. While these things sound scary at a national level, what most people – whether they’re employees, gig workers, or SME entrepreneurs – should also worry about is the impact on our personal money. With many possibly losing their jobs, closing down their businesses, and the rising cost of living on top of everything, it has become more important than ever to be smart with our money, so we all have more Ringgit in our pockets.

With that in mind, I’m starting a small article series which is basically a cheat sheet on how you can use RinggitPlus (both the content and the application tools) to save money, without changing too much about what you do day-to-day! I’m calling this series #SaveMoneyWithHann. In between, I’ll also share my thoughts on current issues, and answer some burning questions from readers. It’s going to be really interesting, and I hope you will enjoy reading this column.

#SaveMoneyWithHann and Save RM1,000s

Don’t go out to eat so much. Why are you spending so much money online? Cut down on your travelling. Better cut your credit card. All loans are bad, don’t take a single loan, be debt-free.

These are just some of the things that come to mind when we ask ourselves (or our naggy parents) how ‘
to save money’
.

While I’m sure doing some of those things does save money, the fact is that we humans want to live our lives a certain way, go out where we want to go, eat what we want to eat, and that usually gets in the way of the actual saving.

But how about a way you can potentially save thousands of Ringgit without changing how you live? The trick is simple – if you can get the same thing but pay less, why not do so? It’s not just about choosing the right credit card, saving on car insurance, or changing your telco, it encompasses pretty much every part of your life. It’s what we hope followers of RinggitPlus use the site for.

Challenge Yourself And #SaveMoneyWithHann

Over the next few articles, I challenge all our readers to spend some time following each piece to cut the cost of their bills and debts, and save RM1,000 this year, all without sacrificing anything except that little bit of time.

The Movement Control Order is crucial during this pandemic, but one positive side effect is that it gives us some free time to review our financial well-being and strategise how to navigate a post-Covid-19 Malaysia – this column will help you do that. Drop your email to
subscribe to this column
, and have each new article delivered straight to your inbox.

At times like these, every Ringgit saved will make a huge difference down the line.

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Beverage Prices At Coffee Shops May Increase By Up To 60 Sen In 2022

(Image: Malay Mail/Shafwan Zaidon)

Individuals frequenting coffee shops may soon need to pay more for their tea and coffee, as many kopitiam owners are considering increasing the price of their beverages by up to 60 sen starting from 2022.

According to the president of Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association, Wong Teu Hoon, the hike in price could range between 20 to 60 sen, depending on the location of the shop. “The price will increase 20-30 sen in rural areas and 40-60 sen in urban areas. The rent is higher in certain areas, so the prices will also be higher,” he said.

Wong also stated that the price increase is necessary due to rising operating costs. “Recently, many things have become more expensive – from condensed milk and evaporated milk needed to make coffee or tea, to the salaries of employees, rent and cooking gas,” he said.

(Image: The Star)

Additionally, Wong said that coffeeshop owners do not gain much from the price adjustment, explaining that most of them are only able to make a profit of RM20 if they sold 100 cups of coffee per day – even if the price went up by 20 sen per cup. “That amount is not enough to pay the salaries of foreign workers. At most, it is only a subsidy,” he shared, adding that the salary of a foreign worker has increased from RM1,200 to RM1,650. This is not including the annual agency fee, which has also gone up from RM6,000 to RM9,500.

Wong – who is also the president of the Malacca Coffee Shopkeepers’ Association – further said that most coffee shops in Malacca have abstained from increasing their prices in the past six years despite the rising costs. “This time, we are really forced to raise prices. Most businesses agree to start adjusting the beverage prices from 1 January,” he said.

(Image: The Star)

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Penang and Province Wellesley Café Association, Tan Kar Seong said that many coffee shop owners in the northern region were concerned about losing their customers if they were to increase their beverage prices. Most of them are currently relying on achieving large sales volumes to cover their costs and to gain small profits. “The price of everything is going up and no one knows what has gone wrong. The situation is really bad,” he said.

Coffee shops in the southern region, too, have yet to come to a consensus on this matter. The chairman of the Johor Baru Coffee, Restaurant, and Bar Operators Association, Tiong Kiu Wong said that his association is still observing the situation. “As far as I know, only a handful of coffee shops in Johor Baru have raised the prices of their beverages. The increase is small, about 10%. They may have faced rent pressure, so they raised prices,” he said.

(Source:
Malay Mail
)

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Wong Teu Hoon

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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MAS Merdeka Promo Offers Domestic, International Flights Starting From RM66 And RM266

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is currently running an exclusive Merdeka sale promo in conjunction with the upcoming 66
th
 National Day celebration, where travellers can purchase flight tickets to domestic and international destinations at prices
as low as RM66 and RM266
, respectively. The campaign, which is already ongoing, will end on 27 August, while the travel period starts from now until 31 March 2024.

In the website, MAS noted that passengers will be able to select from the following tickets:

Domestic: All-in one-way tickets (Economy Lite and Business Class)

International: All-in one-way or return tickets (Economy Basic and Business Class)

For domestic flights, destinations include Kuantan, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar, Kuching, and Labuan. Depending on your destination and preferred type of flight, ticket prices will range from RM66 to RM866. Here’s the full list of domestic flights for your reference, along with the promotional prices:

Meanwhile, international destinations include locations like Bali, Taipei, Perth, Tokyo, and London. The prices for one-way trips start from RM266, going all the way up to RM1,266, while return trips range from RM1,066 to RM12,066. You can refer to the prices here:

The usual terms and conditions based on the respective fare family policy will apply. You can start searching for and booking discounted flights via this Merdeka deal on
MAS’ promo landing page here
.

(Source:
Malaysia Airlines
)

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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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Cable Internet vs Cellular Internet: Which is Better?

It seems that nowadays we just can’t do without our internet, we use it for work, for play and to stay connected to the outside world. But the cost of connections can be rather expensive, thus it is in our wallet’s best interest to choose wisely when it comes to how we buy internet access.

What Is The Difference Between Cable Internet and Cellular Internet?

Cable internet is typically wired (in a sense) and is often used at home or in the office where a fibre optic cable helps transmit high-speed data.
UniFi
 and
MaxisONE Home
 are examples of broadband fibre internet providers in Malaysia.

Those who watch internet-streamed TV or movies, or play graphic-heavy games, and even work from home might require more data.

Cellular internet on the other hand is connected through a portable device and is accessible almost everywhere. In Malaysia cellular internet providers include
P1
 and
Yes
, even Telekom Malaysia has its own cellular service,
TMgo
.

If you are on the go and need your computer and mobile devices equipped with internet, a cellular or mobile internet service is definitely necessary. Cellular internet is also available for home use as provided through
Maxis 4G Home Broadband
 or
P1 ForHome
.

Now you know what they are, it’s time to learn about the pros and cons of both services:

Advantages of Cable Internet

It often offers
more data
 with (typically) unlimited downloads, although providers do cap usage for bandwidth hogs and can be
cheaper per gigabyte of data
 but more costly as a package. This means that
heavy users would benefit
 from cable internet. You can download music and movies quickly, and upload large files in less time as well.

Disadvantages of Cable Internet

Cable internet often requires installation and additional equipment which could lead to added expenses and a need for contract. During promo periods, some service providers may not charge for installation, if there are charges, the fees usually range from RM100 to RM250 depending on the work needed and cable length. You may also need to pay a registration fee.

Moreover, the service may not be available everywhere and since cable access is shared within a vicinity– the service could be slower depending on how many of your neighbours are plugged in at the same time.

Advantages of Cellular Internet

For someone on the go, especially with regards to work and travel, having strong cellular internet service is indispensable. Depending on your network and device type, you should be able to enjoy coverage (almost) everywhere. Better still, no installation is necessary. Some providers however, might require you to sign a contract and pay for loaned equipment as well as an upfront fee.

Disadvantages of Cellular Internet

Depending on your provider and package chosen, cellular internet can be more expensive than cable internet when compared to the amount of data allowed for each service. But it can be a cheaper option if your data requirements are slight.

Again depending on the provider (and device amongst others), the quality of connections received can be shoddy in hilly areas or in more nature-enclaved zones (with tall trees or mountains).

Cost Comparison

Here is a quick comparison for select cable and cellular services available in terms of price, speed and data allowances:

–

Cable Internet

–

Cellular Internet

–

–

MaxisOne Home

TM Unifi Advance Plan

Yes 4G Broadband Postpaid

P1 ForHome

Price per month (RM)

220*

199

158

159

Speed

30 Mbps

30 Mbps

up to 20Mbps

up to 2Mbps

Data Quota

Unlimited

Unlimited

48GB

Unlimited

Bundles

Free Voice Calls

IPTV / Free Voice Plans

Free on-net SMS / Calls

No

*Price is only for MaxisOne Home users, non-customers will pay RM248 (Source: ISP’s official websites)

Although cellular internet appears to have a lower cost in the table above, the transmission speeds and data allowances may not be enough for a medium-to-heavy user. Also on the basis of data, cable internet appears to be cheaper per gig.

Is One Really Faster Than the Other?

This is a difficult question to answer because actual transmission speed depends on a number of factors such as device type, bandwidth chosen, service provider, your device as well as location. All things constant, your computer would theoretically enjoy faster speeds on a home Wi-Fi connection than it would when plugged into a mobile hotspot with a cellular 4G connection.

On the other hand, your mobile device using cellular internet obtains faster speeds than a home Wi-Fi connection. The difference is that your devices may be optimised for specific connections.

Which Do You Need?

This depends on your usage, if you require
high-speed
 internet on the go, with more data than is available with your mobile plan
AND
 prefer to watch streamed TV and movies or play graphic-heavy games at home – chances are you might need both.

Thus to limit your costs, you’ll need to research which provider offers the best rate for its connection quality, speed, reliability and data options. To help make your research a heck of a lot easier, we’ve listed the best
mobile internet
 and
cable
 options available in the country.

Image credits:
P1’s Official Website
 and
Wired.com
.

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About THE AUTHOR

Desiree Nair

Desiree Nair

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Maybank Islamic Wins Global Islamic Bank Of The Year Award 2020

(Image: New Straits Times)

Financial publication The Banker has named Maybank Islamic Berhad as year 2020’s Global Islamic Bank of the Year, acknowledging the bank’s role as one of the world’s leading shariah-compliant financial institutions.

“The judges were impressed by the bank’s commitment to sustainability, the evolution of its digital offering, and the opening of its first branch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” said the publication in a statement.

Among Maybank Islamic’s achievements that appealed to the judges include the bank’s introduction of new features in its Maybank2u mobile app for SMEs. These features allow SMEs to instantly open conventional or Islamic business accounts, place fixed deposits, and tap into various payroll and payment solutions. Additionally, the bank also launched a shariah-compliant version of its Maybank Anytime Everyone (MAE) mobile wallet, which amassed more than one million users by October 2019.

Of particular mention is also Maybank Islamic’s expansion into the UAE, which saw the bank being awarded a full Islamic banking licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. This is the first of its kind awarded to a Malaysian Islamic bank.

“This bold new expansion, together with its strong operational and financial performance across its existing footprint, make Maybank Islamic the deserved winner of the 2020 Global Islamic Bank of the Year award,” said the publication.

These achievements are on top of a notable financial performance that Maybank Islamic clocked in for 2019, with its total shariah asset increasing by 7.1% to US$58.2 billion, and profitability rising by 25% to US$611.5 million for the year. This is despite a slight slip in its Tier 1 capital, which refers to the bank’s primary funding source meant to keep it running through the transactions that it undertakes. Maybank Islamic’s return on equity (ROE) also increased from 22.5% in 2018 to 26.7% in 2019, whereas its cost-to-income ratio remained unchanged at 32.5%.

(Image: The Star)

The chief executive officer of Maybank Islamic, Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican also commented that the award is a sign of Maybank Group’s commitment and capability to leverage its leading position in the region to deliver value to its customers and communities.

This latest award is
Maybank Islamic’s second time
 winning the Global Islamic Bank of the Year title by The Banker publication, with the first being in 2015. Previously, Maybank Islamic had also been named as Malaysia’s leading shariah-compliant financier for four times.

The Banker publication is based in London, and has been in circulation since 1926. It is owned by The Financial Times, and runs several annual awards and rankings, including the Top 1,000 World Banks ranking.

(Source:
The Sun Daily
)

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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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Banking Industry Launches National Scam Awareness Campaign

The banking industry has launched the National Scam Awareness campaign (NSAC) to further continue its efforts in combatting scams and educating the public. Rolled out in conjunction with the Financial Literacy Month 2022 (FLM2022), it is jointly organised by the various bank associations in Malaysia, and supported by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Specifically, the key organisers of the campaign are the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), and Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia (ADFIM).

According to the deputy governor of BNM, Marzunisham Omar, the campaign will see banks featuring more prominent scam awareness advertisements, messages, and prompts on their channels. These reminders will also be shared on various mainstream and social media. “I understand there will also be community outreach programmes to educate the public,” he added.

Aside from that, the banking industry also came up with a logo, tagline, and hashtag for the campaign to emphasise its key message and to enable the public to remember important measures that will help them avoid getting scammed. The logo, for instance, features three key steps that individuals should take when they receive calls, messages, or emails from unknown parties – namely “Stop, Think, and Block” – which are also known as the three-second rule.

Similarly, the campaign taps into the tagline “Ingat 3 Saat OK” and the hashtag #JanganKenaScam to spread its message.

“Given the tactics used by criminals will continue to evolve, we will, where necessary, issue new security advisories and additional security measures for banks to take from time to time,” Marzunisham further said in the launch ceremony of the campaign, adding that the public is also advised to frequently check the
Amaran Scam Facebook page by BNM
, as well as the
Cyber Crime Alert
 and
Semak Mule
 pages by the police for latest updates.

The National Scam Awareness campaign is set to commence from November 2022 onwards, and will complement the
five additional safeguards that were announced by BNM
 back in September, which include migrating from SMS OTP to other secure authentication methods and implementing cooling-off periods for the enrolment of e-banking services or secure devices. Numerous banks have
pledged their full support
 for the measures, such as
Maybank
 and
CIMB
.

(Sources:
BNM
,
Free Malaysia Today
)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

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CIMB And Shopmatic Are Offering Free Webinars To Help SMEs Set Up Online Businesses

CIMB Bank and its e-commerce platform partner, Shopmatic, are offering four free webinar sessions for small and medium enterprise (SME) customers throughout April and May 2020. Each “Build Your Own Store And Start Selling Online” webinar will help SMEs learn about the essentials of setting up an online business, and will run for 60 minutes.

According to CIMB Bank, this offer is meant to help its customers cope with the challenges that they have encountered during the current economic climate and the movement control order (MCO) period. All its SME customers with a business current account will be entitled to the free webinars, which are held on 9 and 23 April, as well as 14 and 21 May 2020.

(Image: New Straits Times)

In each webinar, SMEs will be guided on basics such as designing a webstore on Shopmatic, enabling e-commerce features on the webstore, and managing and updating the product catalogue. Interested SMEs will have to register for the free session that they wish to join, and prepare their company’s logo along with any 5 products and descriptions for the exercise.

Small businesses with limited budgets and growing businesses looking for cost-effective ways to expand will especially benefit from Shopmatic’s expertise. They can also opt to tap into the e-commerce platform’s features to sell their products and services after the webinars.

“The platform will help SMEs operate in a practical and more efficient way during these challenging times, where restricted physical mobility need not be an obstacle, both for the businesses and their customers and their customers,” said the chief executive officer of CIMB’s group commercial banking, Victor Lee Meng Teck.

(Image: The Star)

Lee further added that the scalability of Shopmatic will let SMEs leverage on the full power of this business suite to take advantage of global online business opportunities. The e-commerce platform carries features that let customers build their own webstore with a full ecosystem, including shopping cart, email marketing, payment, logistics, dashboard and mobile optimisation, site builder, as well as marketplace and social channels. They will also be able to bring their businesses to channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Lazada.

The
free webinars
, which usually cost RM1,500 per session, are also open to SMEs that are not registered as CIMB business account holders. However, these SMEs will be subject to certain terms and conditions.

For more information, you can head on to
Shopmatic’s
 website or contact CIMB at
[email protected]
.

(Source:
The Edge Markets
)

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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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Low prices and cashback for iPad Minis, only from Hong Leong Bank

Fancy a new iPad mini but can’t quite afford the splurge?

Hong Leong Bank is offering one for RM655 on a 12-month instalment plan. All

you need to do is apply for a new HLB credit card.

As a new HLB credit cardholder you are not only entitled to
electronic goodies

from Apple and Philips
 but also receive RM50 in cashback upon using your

card within 45 days of approval. As an incentive Hong Leong Bank is willing to

waive the first year’s principal fee.

This promotion runs from 15 May till 30 June 2013 and is

open to new principal credit cardholders except for the following products:

·

Mach by Hong Leong Credit Card;

·

HLB American Express Credit card;

·

HLB virtual credit cards;

·

HLB Corporate credit cards;

·

HLB debit cards; and

·

HLB prepaid cards

Please note that the 0% interest Extended Payment Plan is

not optional and credit cardholders who purchase items from this promotion are

expected to commit to the full 12-month tenure.

For further information on this offer please refer to the
Terms &

Conditions
.

Interested in getting yourself a Hong Leong Bank credit card

but don’t know how? Start by picking the right one for you on
RinggitPlus.com

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StashAway To Prioritise Refunding Affected Users After Direct Debit Mishap

Following a technical issue that saw the bank accounts of many StashAway users being erroneously debited multiple times yesterday, the robo-advisor made a Facebook post today, stating that “our priority today is to credit the full amount that was deducted back to your account.”

According to the post – which was made at noon – StashAway has already begun the process of refunding its affected users, and that it will release an official statement over the next few days to explain the chain of events. It also apologised, and said that it is now working with its partner, Curlec, to fix the issue and to prevent this from happening again.

Yesterday, StashAway users who had enabled the direct debit function found themselves faced with the unpleasant surprise of drained bank accounts after a technical error caused the robo-advisor to mistakenly execute up to 27 back-to-back debit transactions. For instance, if you set up a standing instruction to automatically transfer RM150 to StashAway each month, you may have found yourself abruptly missing up to RM4,050 last evening.

(Image: Vulcan Post)

It was also noted that the issue was not isolated to a single bank; the affected StashAway accounts were linked to several different banks, including CIMB, HSBC, Hong Leong Bank, and Maybank.

On the same day, StashAway Malaysia’s country manager, Wong Wai Ken, sent out an email to inform its users that the wealth management platform is aware of the technical problem, and that it is already striving to resolve the issue. Affected users can expect to receive the full refund by 11pm today. Wong also offered affected users a voucher that entitles them to 6 months of free investing for the inconvenience caused.

(Image: Vulcan Post)

StashAway offers investing services by providing customised investment portfolios for its users based on their financial goals and risk preferences. It is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia, which means that it complies with the same capital, compliance, auditing, and reporting requirements abided by most financial institutions in Malaysia.

(Source:
StashAway (Facebook)
,
Vulcan Post
)

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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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UOB, Lazada Sign MOU To Collaborate On Co-Branded Credit Cards, Loans For Merchants

UOB and Lazada have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which will enable them to roll out a range of retail products and banking solutions for their customers in several countries, including Malaysia. This will also see both parties refreshing the existing Citi-Lazada co-branded credit cards in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, following
UOB’s acquisition of Citi’s consumer business in these markets
 (as well as Indonesia).

UOB confirmed that the MOU will allow it to reintroduce the Citi-Lazada co-branded cards as new UOB-Lazada co-branded cards, which are expected to be launched later this year with enhanced benefits. Among other things, it will include access to special Lazada deals during mega sale events.

At present, the
Lazada Citi Platinum credit card in Malaysia
 lets you earn up to 10x Rewards Points on selected expenses. Specifically, you can earn 10x Rewards Points on all your Lazada and Lazada Wallet spend, 5x Rewards Points on selected online, lifestyle, telco, and insurance spend, and finally, 1x Rewards Points on any other expenses. There are also monthly bonuses, such as an additional 1,000 Rewards Points each month when you spend RM1,500 or more, and RM8 discount vouchers that you can collect on the 8th of every month via your Lazada app.

UOB further said that there are plans to also launch the new co-branded cards in Singapore and Indonesia as well, although no timeline is provided for this move.

Aside from that, UOB and Lazada’s regional strategic partnership also seeks to roll out cash management and transaction processing services, as well as loans to help Lazada sellers across the region. The loan offering, specifically, will likely be introduced in a pilot launch this year, and will provide merchants with access to streamlined onboarding, approval, and disbursement processes for loans and financing.

Additionally, UOB and Lazada noted that this partnership marks a significant first for both parties. For UOB, it is the bank’s first regional collaboration with an e-commerce platform. Meanwhile, for Lazada, this is the platform’s first partnership with a bank across a variety of payments and financial services in Southeast Asia (SEA), as opposed to only a single product.

Elaborating further on this, head of group wholesale banking and markets at UOB, Frederick Chin said that this partnership with Lazada complements the bank’s effort at bringing personalised and innovative solutions to its customers. “Through this partnership, consumers and businesses can benefit from seamless financial services that bring about access to rewarding experiences within ASEAN’s dynamic digital landscape,” he said.

Similarly, chief executive officer of Lazada, James Dong said that the e-commerce platform is committed to building an open and accessible ecosystem for SEA. “For consumers, we will offer easy-to-use, convenient and secure payment and financing options to enable their lifestyle needs. For brands and sellers, we are here to help them scale up their businesses and accelerate growth,” he commented.

(Source:
The Edge Singapore
)

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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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PNB: No Disruptive Withdrawals From Unitholders Despite Covid-19 Challenges

(Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

The group chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said that the fund management group has not seen any disruptive withdrawals from its unitholders despite challenges brought on by Covid-19.

“Currently, we are seeing that it (withdrawal) has remained fairly stable and we are not seeing any disruptive withdrawals. From time to time, yes, we see some withdrawals but this has remained stable for us,” said Tan Sri Dr Zeti.

(Image: Astro Awani)

PNB president and group chief executive officer, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn also chimed in on the matter to say that the fund management group is pleased that there is little change in how individuals invest despite the current challenging situation. “That is a testament to how we do business and how people perceive us. PNB funds are really for long-term savings and long-term investing, and we don’t see any different in the trend this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, on the topic of PNB’s upcoming dividend payment, Tan Sri Dr Zeti said that it will reflect the performance of its funds amidst the current challenging year. “We will strive to invest in the best interest to yield the best and most competitive return, but we recognise that this is a very uncertain and challenging year. However, we are a long-term investor and we want to maintain a sustainable and realistic return for our shareholders,” she said.

ASB Distribution Announcement 2019

Last year, PNB’s wholly owned unit trust firm, Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, had declared a distribution payout
of 5.5 sen per unit for its leading fund, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB)
 – comprising of an earning of 5 sen a unit and a bonus of 0.5 sen. It was the lowest dividend paid since 1999, caused by factors such as the US-China trade war and geopolitical tensions. Aside from that, PNB had also disbursed a total of RM13.2 billion in income distribution and bonus to its unitholders across all its 14 funds in 2019.

Tan Sri Dr Zeti further said that PNB will continue to increase its international portfolio as this remains the fund management group’s core intention. However, the expansion will be a gradual and careful process as the market is still volatile and unpredictable. “We look at the fundamental trend, the outlook of the investments concern, the outlook of the overall industry and sectors of that investment in the economy of any respective country… so that is how we will proceed,” she explained.

(Image: Bernama)

At present, PNB’s foreign investments are primarily contained in the US and Europe, focusing on real estate, real estate funds, and private equity. The group said earlier this year that it intends to
expand its overseas investments
 from the existing 8.5% to 30% by 2022 – by diversifying its portfolio into real estate funds and private equities in emerging markets.

At present, PNB’s assets under management exceeds RM300 billion worth of units in circulation. As of 31 December 2019, it has 14.28 million subscribers.

(Sources:
The Star
,
The Malaysian Reserve
)

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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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Malaysian Banks Underspend In Technology, May Face Challenges By Tech Firms In Virtual Banking

(Image: The Edge Markets)

Managing director of information technology services provider Hitachi Vantara, Moti Uttam has said that Malaysian banks may eventually be challenged by major Chinese tech firms, such as Alibaba and Tencent, in the virtual banking space. This comes as the banks are found to be underspending in the investment of technology.

Uttam drew data from Global Data, a data analytics and consulting company, which projected that Malaysia’s tech industry will see an investment of about US$25.2 billion (approximately RM102.39 billion) by 2023. Out of the total amount, however, the banking and financial services industry is forecasted to contribute only 12.3% of it, coming in third behind manufacturing and energy sector.

(Image: The Star)

“Hence, banks ought to look beyond their current offerings of deposits, payments, and loans space, and close the gap between themselves and digital and/or virtual banks. They also need to start creating a business model that addresses the demands, needs or pain points of a new generation and digitally-savvy discerning customers,” said Uttam in a report from Bernama.

Uttam also said that that the arrival of digital banks will spur the digital transformation in Malaysia as the plan saw wide support from the public. He further cited statistics from the PwC 2019 Report, which found that 77% of Malaysians polled are eager for digital banks. Meanwhile, only 36% of them continue to trust traditional banks to keep their data and monies secure.

In line with this trend, BNM had announced the
exposure draft for the licencing framework for digital banks
 at the end of 2019, which sought to issue five digital bank licences. However, the consultation period for the exposure draft was postponed from March to June 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. BNM is currently at the stage of
finalising the updated exposure draft
.

Uttam further commented that with BNM’s virtual banking licensing framework taking flight from June 2020, the banking industry has been paying more attention to the capabilities needed for digitalisation. Banks began observing more paperless, branchless, and signatureless transactions over the web. Statistics from the central bank also revealed that 35.1 million Malaysians have subscribed to online banking as of June 2020.

(Image: Amanz)

That said, Uttam clarified that the banking industry is not a latecomer to the digital scene. In fact, it was one of the early adopters that started their digital journey in the late 20th century, growing gradually in the past two decades. They are also one of the essential providers in digitalisation with the pervasiveness of mobile devices, encouraging early adoption of online banking as the demand for instant and convenient accessibility to banking services grew.

“They started with internet banking, mobile banking, changing from swipe cards to newer chip-based automatic teller machine (ATM) cards and launching the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS) dash. Today, we see further enhancements with the use of a combination of password, PIN token, two-factors authentication or QR code in the authorisation process,” said Uttam.

(Image: New Straits Times)

“With transactional capabilities in place, digital banking leaders are now shifting their focus from developing features to creating personalised user experiences that increase customer retention and drive revenue growth,” Uttam also noted. He added that by using analytics, banks can identify customer preferences and accelerate digital access to information, which helps them to pinpoint crucial features for a better consumer experience.

Finally, Uttam said that this shift to online banking has created a surge in transaction volume and frequency. As such, banks are forced to rethink their IT architecture and to ensure that it can cope with the new demands.

(Source:
Bernama
)

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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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ASB & ASB2 Holding Limit To Increase To RM300,000

In his Budget 2023 speech, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tenku Zafrul Aziz announced that the investment limit for Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) fixed price funds will be increased, as well as a new ASB loan that will be offered at a special rate.

Currently, the holding limit of the ASB and ASB2 funds is set at RM200,000. As an effort to increase investment holdings among the Bumiputera in Malaysia, the holding limit will increase to RM300,000.

In addition, Bank Simpanan Nasional will also offer a new ASB financing facility to help the Bumiputera community in the B40 segment to invest in ASB funds. The financing rate is set at 1.5%, and has a total allocation of RM100 million.

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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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Restart Your Credit Rating Now

The year end is the time most people seek to ‘start over’ with resolutions to gain better health; clearer insight; meet financial goals and pave the way for an improved state of being. If one of your resolutions includes cleaning up your credit rating; we can help.

What is a credit rating and how does this work?

Your credit rating may be calculated in different ways in other countries but in Malaysia, it’s not so much a rating but a spreadsheet of all your loans and payment behaviour. Contrary to popular belief; there isn’t ‘blacklist’ in Bank Negara that carries your name but you can be certain that if your payment history is less than impressive; you won’t get approved for loans as these payment misdemeanours will be clearly visible on your credit history sheet.

Our article on ‘blacklisting’
 explains this in detail but the important thing you need to note is that to have a neat and attractive credit report to banks and other financiers; you need to be consistently good with payment for at least 12 months. That’s a whole year of paying in full and on time.

What do you need to do to get your credit report looking good?

As mentioned above, what you need to do is pay off all your loan installments and credit card dues
on time and diligently every month for at least 12 months
. You must also repay all outstanding amounts. In other words; all your payments need to be up-to-date and in order. It’s of course a lot easier said that done. Here are some ways you can tackle your monthly bill payment to keep that credit sheet looking good all the time.

Set up a
standing instruction
 or reminder
. For many people, the reason they miss payments is not because they deliberately want to but because they simply forget to pay when they should. This often happens when you’re billed at different times in a month. It can be hard to keep track. For some, having a standing instruction set to pay off the amount owed is helpful as you don’t even have to remember to do anything – the bank does it all for you. But if you are reluctant to pay the RM2 per transaction standing instruction fee (and whatever other IBG charge there is); why not simply set up reminders in your phone to go off at least 2 days before every bill is due?

Consolidate debt
. Sometimes it’s possible that the reason you cannot meet your payments is because you have too many of them and too little income. Consolidating your loans means you pay only one (or two) loan amounts every month, freeing up more cash for use. This is also a good idea if you are using your entire salary for repayments and then turn to your credit cards for monthly necessities, perpetuating the cycle of debt.

Renegotiate loans and payment deadlines with banks or
AKPK
. If your loans have become too much to bear or if you find you have an outstanding amount that you cannot settle in a short period of time; negotiating with your bank may yield positive results. You may ask for an internal consolidation loan or a restructuring. Even if your bank refuses; you can then opt to contact AKPK for their assistance in restructuring debt.

Reduce the number of credit cards you own
. If you’re able to pay off any one of your credit cards in full; be quick to cut them up. Credit cards can be useful but they can also encourage you to spend more money that you don’t have. The more cards you own; the higher the risk of racking up multiple debt.

And there you have it! Four ways (not so easy though!) to clear and restart your credit rating right now – so get yourself on the right track now!

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AmBank credit cards give you 5x AmBonus Points at Caltex

You’ll be glad each time you refuel at Caltex if you’re an AmBank or AmIslamic Bank MasterCard holder.

That’s because pumping RM50 and above of petrol in a single receipt with your credit card
will earn you 5x AmBonus Points.

The promotion’s only catch is there’s a spending cap of RM1,000 per month, but that amount should be more than enough for most of us anyway.

Promotion runs from now until 31 January 2014 so you’ve got a whole lot of time to cash in on it.
Terms and conditions
 apply, of course.

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Emergency Cash from your Credit Card with Hong Leong Bank’s Cash-on-Call

In times of emergencies, there’s very few if anywhere at all to go to get a small cash advance. Now with Hong Leong Bank’s Cash-on-Call, you can get a quick loan to tide you over at attractive interest rates. In fact, the more you take, the lesser the interest.

The tier is as follows:

1500 – 9999 = 9.88% p.a.

10000 – 19999 = 8.88% p.a.

20000 – 29000 = 7.88% p.a.

30000 and above = 6.88% p.a.

Tenures at 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 and amounts are set at a minimum of RM1500 to a max of 90% of your available credit card limit.

Promotion ends 30 April 2013 and is open to all principle Hong Leong Bank Credit Cardmembers with card numbers starting with 3779, 4293, 4363, 4431, 5289, 5438, 5439, 466250 and 515734. There is a handling fee of RM12 and an early settlement penalty of RM25 so take note.

For the full terms and conditions, click
here
.

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