3 Ways You Can Use GST on Banking to Better Your Finances

If you’ve been following the news, you would have seen the
reports about GST being charged on banking fees
 but scare-lore type shares on social media caused a frantic public to go into commenting/sharing overdrive.
Clarifying reports then emerged that GST will only be charged on banking transaction/fees fee
. In the case of an ATM withdrawal, you will be charged only for MEPS ATM withdrawals, which equals 6% an RM1 MEPS fee (RM0.06).

The Association of Banks released a list (though not exhaustive) of the most common fees incurred on banking transactions and indicated whether GST would apply. This was done to avoid any further misinformation. However, misinformation or not; the public is already apprehensive about the introduction of GST, which requires more of a perception shift rather than the provision of more information.

If you are afraid of being charged extra fees for your numerous banking transactions in a post-GST era; here are some ways you can use this apprehension to the benefit of your finances.

Opt for a Free-For-Life Credit Card

GST will be charged on annual fees
 but the good thing is that the RM50 service charge applicable to ALL credit cards will be removed. This actually makes having a credit card cheaper than before GST – provided you are not charged annual fees.

There are plenty of credit cards in the market that are free-for-life and many others with waived annual fees for a minimum number of swipes. However, if your credit card annual fee is subject to bank waiver; do check with your bank if the GST charge will be waived as well.
Maybank provides, in their GST FAQ
, that a waived annual fee means no GST as well but it’s always safer to check with your own bank.

Perhaps it’s time to revisit your trusty plastic friends to decide which ones need to go. If you’re in the market for a free-for-life credit card;
check out our comparator
, because why do the research work when we’ve done it for you?

Manage Your Withdrawals

As GST will be charged on MEPS withdrawals; you might be concerned about using the service more than necessary. Whilst the charge is only RM0.06 per transaction; if you are the type to withdraw RM100 nearly 20 times a month (yes, some people do!) with say; 10 of these using the MEPs service; that’s RM0.60 per month; RM7.20 per year.

Again, it’s not a huge deal for some but if you are looking to use this to better manage your finances; it could work in your favour. Withdraw enough to last a week and leave your ATM card at home during shopping trips and outings. Why? By doing this, you’re not just avoiding an unnecessary charge; you’re less likely to withdraw on whim to spend on items you don’t need.

Managing your ATM withdrawals was part of our
guide on avoiding overspending
 too. If you’re forced to hunt specifically for your bank’s ATM machine, the delay may force you to rethink your purchase.

Get Organised with Monthly Repayments/Bills

We all have bills and installments to pay. Many of us choose to use
standing instructions
 to pay these monthly commitments but as is, standing instruction payments already charge higher fees than regular interbank transfers. With GST being charged; you can expect them to get even higher.

Each standing instruction costs RM2. A 6% charge will equal RM0.12 per transaction. Now compare this to a RM0.10 Interbank GIRO fee, which will attract less than RM0.01 in GST charges! If you have 6 standing instructions per month; that’s an additional RM0.72 on top of the RM12 in standing instruction fees you are charged. At this rate; you’re burning through RM152.64 per year.

Standing instructions are no doubt helpful for those of us just a little tardy in our repayment habits but this tardiness is costing us cold hard cash!

Get organised about repayment so you don’t need to subscribe to any standing instructions. Designate a day when you pay all your commitments online with a reminder on your phone if necessary. Just one inconvenient day but you’ll save a good amount over time, which could go to any number of other things you choose.

Getting with the Programme

We can’t always choose the things that happen to us (in this case, GST!) but we can choose how we respond to it. In all honesty, nobody likes paying additional fees but if we are forced to accept a change; then we might as well make the most of it. We hope you consider these tips, not just for GST but for better finances all around.

Good news: With effect on June 1, 2017, the regular
GST rate of 6%
 will be reduced to zero as per government directive.

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Diana Chai

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HSBC Extended Moratorium: Flexible Repayment Includes Option To Partially/Fully Pay Off Accrued Interest

HSBC has updated its Covid-19 and moratorium support page with a contact form to assess its customers’ current financial position as the ongoing moratorium nears its end in September 2020. The form also doubles as the bank’s instrument to offer targeted post-moratorium aid to those who are truly in need.

Through the contact form, HSBC customers will be able to let the bank know if they are in need of further financial support after the moratorium is over. They are also invited to select the kind of assistance that they may need, such as:

Making only partial monthly payments after the deferment period ends

Three-month extension of the deferment period (for retrenched individuals)

Reduced monthly payments over a six-month period (for individuals taking a pay cut)

The financial aids offered are applicable for the following facilities:

Amanah personal financing-i

Secured and unsecured overdraft

Partner loans

Mortgage

HSBC further said that it will get in touch with its customers to guide them on the next steps once bank personnel has reviewed the information submitted. As such, you can expect the aid offered to be tailored according to your needs and financial capabilities.

Repaying your HSBC loans post-moratorium

(Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

For clarification, HSBC’s
updated FAQ
 has outlined the way its customers’ loan repayment schedule/amount will be affected once the moratorium is over. Here’s an idea of how things may change for you after September, according to the types of loans:

Conventional term loans, mortgages, and overdrafts

The tenure of your term loans and mortgages will be extended automatically by 6 months, and their terms and conditions will remain unchanged unless stated otherwise. Also, interest accrued on the principal outstanding balance during the moratorium will now be added to the outstanding amount of your loan.

Following this, customers who are ready to resume their loan/mortgage repayment can begin to do so in October. The instalment amount to be paid in October will remain the same as the sum paid pre-moratorium. The instalment amount for November onwards, however, will be revised to accommodate the addition of the accrued interest to your principal outstanding balance as well as any other rate changes. As a result, you will not need to repay a higher final amount at the maturity of your loan.

For overdrafts, the interest accrued during the April – September moratorium period will become due in October and must be repaid by then. Additionally, if you’ve exceeded the limit of your overdraft during the moratorium period, the overlimit must be repaid as a lump sum payment by October as well.

Amanah personal financing and mortgages

Your financing tenure will also be extended automatically by six months, with the terms and conditions of your financing remaining the same. Unlike conventional term loans and mortgages, however, the
accrued profit will
not
 be added to the principal outstanding balance
 of your loan.

In terms of your post-moratorium repayments, customers who are capable of repaying their loans can resume their monthly instalment payment in October. The monthly instalment amount for October will also remain the same as the amount paid pre-moratorium. It will then be adjusted in November onwards to accommodate any rate changes.

Note that the monthly instalments paid when you restart your loan repayment will be used to clear the profit/lease rental accrued over the moratorium period first. Only after the accumulated profit/lease rental has been cleared will your instalments contribute to repaying the remaining principal amount and its current profit/lease rental.

In this scenario, you may have to pay a higher final amount upon the maturity of your financing. The amount will depend on your outstanding amount, remaining tenure, and profit rate of your financing.

Alternative repayment options

While you can stick to the repayment options outlined above, HSBC customers are also allowed to negotiate for other repayment alternatives to avoid a higher final amount at the maturity of their loan:

Pay off the accrued interest/profit partially or fully at any time or as soon as possible to reduce the interest/profit charged

Maintain the original tenure of your loan with a higher monthly instalment (for conventional mortgages/term loans or Amanah mortgages)

To speak to HSBC about these alternatives, you will have to fill in
the bank’s dedicated contact form
. You can also call the bank’s Collections Inbound teams at 03-2690 9999 (credit cards/financing) or 03-8894 1955 (mortgage) to make enquiries.

Find out more about
HSBC’s post-moratorium financial support
 on its website.

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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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Keep Your Essentials Protected At All Times With MSIG’s Customisable And Affordable Plan

When we hear about home insurance, we often think about fires or floods and their consequences:  ruined homes and distraught families. While many people tend to purchase basic fire insurance that basically covers only the structure of the building, there’s another important option available to insure the belongings in your home.

Home contents insurance ensures that your belongings in your home are insured against unfortunate events such as fire, theft and floods.  This is especially beneficial for those who have invested in quality furniture, fittings, electronic devices and other items that make a home functional and comfortable.

Keep financial losses at bay

Our homes are more than simply its building and structure. What makes it ours are the belongings that we put in it. Aside from unfortunate events that may damage or destroy our homes, there are times that the structure itself is not at risk, but the home contents are – rising waters, electrical faults, or even simple burglaries and thefts.

Without insurance, getting back to how things used to be is a great financial burden. A damaged home needs to be refitted with the things that make it a place of rest such as a sofa and a comfortable bed with good lighting and air flow. Kitchen appliances or home entertainment will need to be purchased again.

With home contents insurance, damaged belongings may be repaired, replaced or paid in cash to get you back to your normal routine.

Insure the contents of rented homes

Home contents insurance also provides valuable protection to both landlords and tenants of rented properties. As a landlord, you may have invested in furniture and appliances as part of your semi or fully furnished property-for-rent. Having home contents insurance is vital to protecting your assets that make your property attractive.

Similarly, a home contents policy is also important to tenants of rented properties. Many could have purchased their own fans or coffee machines that would not be protected under the landlords’ fire policies. Tenants can consider protecting these items with their own policies, and when there is a move, the home contents insurance is portable. All that needs to be done is to inform their insurance companies of their new address.

MSIG EZ Home Essentials Insurance

EZ Home Essentials Insurance is a home contents insurance that is suitable for those who have specific items in their homes that they would like to insure. The plan is customisable to your current lifestyle, so you can choose from four categories that are relevant:

Home Electrical Products

Household Goods

Security System

Entertainment System

You can select the coverage you need and premium according to your affordability and specific needs.

You can also select a coverage term of six to twelve months with coverage of up to RM15,000. The MSIG EZ Home Essentials Insurance provides an all-risk cover, which means your home items will be protected from damages or losses caused by fire, theft, accidental damage, and most perils*.

Most importantly signing up can be done quickly online and, if successful, is effective soon after. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete the process.

*Not inclusive of Service Tax and Stamp Duty.

MSIG EZ Home Essentials Insurance is a good place to start if you have just begun to think about insuring your belongings. It will provide protection for your home contents from unfortunate events from as low as *RM6.25 a month for an annual policy or RM8.33 a month for a bi-annual policy.

Click here
 to learn more about MSIG EZ Home Essentials.

*Terms and conditions apply.

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How to Consolidate Your Debts with a Personal Loan

We spend quite a bit of time on our site talking about how to handle and manage debt. While being in some small debts here and there is a normal part of being in the rat race, there are those among us who end up digging too big of a hole for ourselves even as we’re aware of how much we owe and how we spend.

How does this happen? One major reason that debt can be difficult to manage even when we have the means to pay them off, is the matter of organising our many little debts and keeping track of everything. Remembering different loan periods, interest rates, and due dates can get confusing. One way to deal with this major issue is debt consolidation.

Debt Consolidation? How Does That Work?

Consolidating simply means taking one big loan to pay off all your smaller loans at once. This leaves you with just one bill to take care of. All you need to do, is figure out how much you still owe, and apply for example, a personal loan like the one from
Citibank
 and pay it off in one go. This leaves you with just one loan to pay off. Easy.

But I’m Fine With Handling Multiple Bills, Why Would I Wanna Do This?

Organisation isn’t the only advantage that debt consolidation gives you. You don’t just have one bill, you also have only one interest rate. When that interest is as low as
Citibank
‘s personal loan at 6.5%, this means all of your debt repayment will only cost you that one interest rate. Consider the following example.

No Debt Consolidation:

You have maxed out three credit cards, let’s call them cards A, B, and C, and now you owe the bank
RM15,000
 (
RM5,000
 for each card). All cards have an interest rate of
18% p.a.
, and you are currently paying RM200 per month for each card.

This means you will need to continue paying RM600 for the next 32 months (close to 3 years) to clear off your debt. The total interest rate you’ll be paying is
RM3,941.91
.

Debt Consolidated with
Citibank’s Personal Loan
:

You have the same cards, but now you apply for RM15,000 personal loan from
Citibank
 at
6.5% p.a.
 and you use this to pay off all your credit card debts.

Your total interest cost will be 6.5% x RM15,000 x 3 years =
RM2,925
.

That’s a savings of
RM1016.91
 in total interest costs.

The example above is only for credit cards of course. You can use debt consolidation to pay off other loans like hire purchases, too. Keep in mind that these savings are on top of making your finances a lot easier to manage under one bill, one due date, and one interest rate.

As you can see. Debt consolidation is a handy financial move to make if you feel like you’re dealing with too much debt on your plate. Just remember not to rack up another loan on top of your consolidated one and remember to spend prudently! If you’re keen on trying this move out for yourself, check out
Citibank’s personal loan
 for their attractive interest rates and fast approval!

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MIEA’s New Landlord Insurance Protects Owners From Rental Default, Asset Damages

The Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) has introduced its new MIEA Landlord Insurance to protect residential property owners from financial losses incurred by problematic tenants. These include risks such as runaway tenants, rent arrears, as well as potential damages to their assets.

The policy is available to landlords who own residential properties with a monthly rental that exceeds RM700, and is offered at a minimum annual premium of RM280 per unit – equivalent to less than RM24 per month. Upon signing up for the insurance package, policyholders will be compensated if met with the following circumstances:

Loss of rental income due to tenant runaway
Legal expenses for Letter of Demand
Loss or damages due to malicious acts from tenant

On top of those, policyholders can also tap into a number of other additional benefits when they encounter specific losses or damages caused by the tenant, including:

Cleaning service costs incurred when contents of premises are destroyed or damaged by tenants
Repairing or replacing doors, locks, access card and keys
Replacement of structures made of glass materials, including shower doors and windows
Maintenance services such as plumbing, drainage, air-conditioning, and toilet repair
Losses due to theft or burglary committed by tenants

MIEA also clarified that this policy will not cover vacation, seasonal or short-term rental units, vacant properties, as well as student rentals (both local and foreign).

(Image: The Sun)

To be eligible for this policy, both landlord and tenant are required to meet a number of eligibility criteria, one of which is that they must pass an Anti–Money Laundering, Anti–Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) screening. In addition, the landlord must possess a valid tenancy agreement with a signed term of more than 12 months. Tenants will also be checked for records of bankruptcy or eviction in the past 5 years, whereas certain tenant groups – like foreign tenants – will need to furnish additional documents.

In rolling out the MIEA Landlord Insurance, the president of MIEA, Chan Ai Cheng believes this product will not only give property agents under the institute an extra edge over others, but also benefit its landlords.

(Image: The Malaysian Reserve)

“We want the real estate profession to grow and be at par with other countries. Our motivation of introducing this policy is to protect the public and to provide an environment for agents to be competitive in enhancing their services, which will set them apart from others. This will augur well for the profession and for the Malaysian property market. Both landlords and agents can also sleep better with this additional protection which will step in should untoward losses occur,” Chan said.

For additional context, the MIEA Landlord Insurance was designed by MIEA’s insurance partner, Howden Insurance Brokers. You can find out more about the MIEA Landlord Insurance
here.

(Source:
The Sun
)

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February 2022 Unemployment Rate Dips Slightly To 4.1%

(Image: Malay Mail/Choo Choy May)

Malaysia’s unemployment rate in February 2022 has decreased slightly from January’s 4.2% to 4.1%, said the latest labour force report from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). This translates to 671,800 unemployed individuals, as compared to 680,400 in January.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed this improvement to the fact that all economic and social activities were able to be in operation during the month, which in turn, led to more labour demands by businesses. “Subsequently, it led to the reduction in the number of unemployment and lower unemployment rate during the month,” he said.

Of the total unemployed individuals, 83.7% of them fell under the actively unemployed category – a number which decreased by 1.2% from 569,500 individuals in January to 562,500 individuals in February. The inactively unemployed, too, fell by 1.4% from 110,900 persons in January to 109,300 persons.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons continued to grow month-on-month, increasing by 0.2% from 16.37 million persons in January to 16.4 million in February. As always, the employee category made up the largest composition of the group, with a share of 76.6%. This is a month-on-month rise of 0.1% to 12.05 million persons from January. The own-account workers’ category also increased by 0.7% in February to register 2.67 million persons from 2.66 million in January.

Aside from that, the number of persons outside of the labour force continued to decrease, from 7.33 million persons in January to 7.32 million in February. Of the number, 41.7% recorded that they were not working due to household or family duties, while 40.9% was due to schooling and training.

Moving forward, Datuk Seri Dr Uzir said that the country’s transition to the endemic phase should help to improve the country’s employment rate. This is especially with the reopening of international borders and removal of various other restrictions that allow all economic and business activities to continue operating.

“This encourages more international travel activities to take place and helps to revitalise the country’s tourism sector as well as tourism-related activities. The reopening of the country’s borders is also seen as a catalyst to revive the shortage of foreign labour in the market,” Datuk Seri Dr Uzir further said.

(Source: DOSM [
1
,
2
])

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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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Affin Bank Launches Affin Invikta, A Premier Banking Service With A Visa Infinite Credit Card

Affin Bank has introduced a new exclusive banking product called Affin Invikta, an invitation-only suite of banking solutions for premier customers. The Affin Invikta membership offers a range of premium banking privileges, such as personalised financial advice, and the new Affin Invikta Visa Infinite Credit Card.

Affin Invikta offers its members preferential interest rates through its Affin Invikta Account, earning you 0.95%p.a. for deposits above RM50,000 and 2.2%p.a. for deposits above RM200,000. The account can be started with a deposit of RM1,000 and also comes with a Visa Debit Card and AffinOnline access.

As for the Affin Invikta Visa Infinite Credit Card, you can earn 5x Affin Rewards Points for overseas retail transactions and 1x for local retail transactions. Affin Rewards Points can be used to redeem items from the Affin Rewards catalogue, or converted into airmiles like Enrich Miles, AirAsia BIG Points, and Malindo Miles.

Besides that, Affin Invikta Visa Infinite holders can get unlimited complimentary green fees in Southeast Asian countries, as well as unlimited complimentary airport lounge access to local and overseas Plaza Premium Lounges – if you have a minimum spend of RM2,500 in your latest credit card statement. For Affin Invikta members, the annual fee for this credit card is waived for life.

Other premium privileges offered by Affin Invikta include access to a dedicated relationship manager who will manage your financial portfolio and provide financial planning advisory. Furthermore, you will get:

Priority application of banking products with faster processing time

Priority lane services at Affin Bank branches nationwide

Private invitations to rewarding business and leisure events

Market insights on the latest news and trends.

The membership criteria for Affin Invikta consist of a total RM200,000 in assets under management (AUM), a monthly salary of RM15,000, a mortgage amount of at least RM800,000 or a hire purchase loan of at least RM200,000 with Affin Bank. The bank also stated that it may impose a fee or charge if the monthly combined AUM in your accounts fall below the minimum balance of RM200,000.

You can find out more about
Affin Invikta
 on the Affin Bank website.

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Finance Minister: Malaysia Expected To Lose RM600 Million Daily From MCO 2.0

(Image: Business Today)

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has said that the reimplementation of the movement control order (MCO 2.0) will cause the country to lose an estimated RM600 million each day.

In comparison, Malaysia’s first MCO – which was implemented in mid-March 2020 – saw a
loss of RM2.4 billion on a daily basis
. By May 2020, the country had incurred an
estimated loss of RM63 billion
.

“This MCO is unlike the one in March last year as five essential sectors are still open; small and medium enterprises (SMEs) such as stalls and stores can still be opened,” explained Tengku Zafrul. The five essential sectors that he referred to include manufacturing, construction, services, trade and distribution, as well as plantations and commodities.

Tengku Zafrul also emphasised that even though the five sectors are still operating, the government cannot leave things to chance as the duration of the second MCO is dependent on the control of Covid-19 case transmissions. This has prompted the government to reveal the
PERMAI assistance package
.

The finance minister said that the latest assistance package is an improvement of the initiatives already announced in Budget 2021, as well as ongoing initiatives in the
PRIHATIN
 and
PENJANA
 packages introduced last year. He added that the package was also prepared particularly for businesses that were unable to operate normally. “For now, we are maintaining our gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection. This is also one of the reasons for PERMAI to be implemented,” he said.

(Image: Hari Anggara)

Tengku Zafrul further highlighted that despite seeing a contraction of 2.7% in the third quarter of 2020, Malaysia’s GDP was still one of the best-performing in the ASEAN region. He was comparing it to the performance of countries such as Indonesia (-3.5%), Singapore (-7%), Philippines (-11.5%), and even the US (-2.9%).

Aside from that, Tengku Zafrul said that although the government had allocated RM15 billion with an additional fiscal injection of RM6.6 billion through the PERMAI package, Malaysia’s fiscal deficit projection remained unchanged from 5.4% thus far. “The people need to understand that the government has done its best and regularly deliberates with the Ministry of Health on the economic aspect to ensure that efforts are balanced,” he said.

(Source:
The Edge Markets
)

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Cashless Ecosystem Launched For Cyberjaya, More Banks And E-Wallets To Adopt DuitNow QR

(Image: Bernama)

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng launched the Cashless Ecosystem for Cyberjaya, making Cyberjaya the first city to adopt the national QR code standard, DuitNow QR. Cyberjaya’s new cashless ecosystem is a collaboration between Cyberview and PayNet, the nation’s shared payment infrastructure provider.

“Cyberview will spearhead this with our partner, PayNet, to encourage more businesses to adopt cashless solutions and further ease payment transactions for communities in Cyberjaya,” said Cyberview Managing Director Mohd Najib Ibrahim.

DuitNow QR is established under the Bank Negara Malaysia Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework (ICTF). PayNet group CEO Peter Schiesser explained that the DuitNow QR standard allows a merchant to sign up with one acquirer, which will then eventually enable 22 million bank customers and millions of e-wallet customers to make payments.

(Image: SoyaCincau)

Currently, nine banks are offering DuitNow QR in their mobile banking apps, with 23 banks and 4 major e-wallets expected to implement the QR standard over the next six months. The first bank to sign up for DuitNow QR was
Public Bank
 in August of last year, whereas
GrabPay
 made headlines as the first e-wallet to do so in November 2019.

The ongoing implementation of the national QR standard is a welcome development as the government pushes for increased cashless payments adoption in Malaysia – through programmes like the recent
e-Tunai Rakyat initiative
.

(Source:
The Malaysian Reserve
)

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All You Need to Know About Personal Loan Interest Rates

A personal loan is a useful tool to help you get hold of money quickly if you need it. One might use the cash for practically anything, usually at times of emergency or to consolidate higher-interest debts.

But before you apply for personal loan, it’s a great idea to get acquainted with interest rates, one of the most important considerations that will help you decide which loan product would make the most sense for you.

Read on to get a better idea on personal loan interest rates and how they are structured.

How are Interest Rates Applied on Personal Loans?

Interests are charged as a fee to the lender for loaning out funds to a borrower and taking on risks. Loan products such as home, car and personal loans all charge different types of interest to account for their own specific set of challenges.

The system of interest rates for personal loans is similar to that of car loans, in that a fixed interest rate is applied to the principal sum borrowed. In other words, your interest costs remain the same throughout the tenure of your loan, no matter how much you’ve already paid.

The structure is unlike credit cards, which are fixed as well but calculated on a reducing balance, which means you are paying for interest only on the balance you owe (if any). It also differs from some home loans that apply variable interest rates on borrowings, which tend to fluctuate over the tenure of the loan.

The terms fixed and flat rates are sometimes used interchangeably but their exact meanings differ. In Malaysia, a flat rate can be understood as the amount to be paid back every month whereas the fixed rate is the interest rate applied over the loan’s term.

For example:

Assume you are paying a 7% fixed interest rate per annum, on principal borrowings of RM10,000 over a five-year loan term.

This means that your total interest costs would be RM3,500 (7% multiplied by loan amount and number of years in the loan term), where total repayment including interests, amount to RM13,500 over the five-year period.

Your monthly repayment would be a flat rate of RM225 (figures rounded up), where the principal is RM166.66 and the monthly fixed interest costs RM58.33.

The downside to fixed interest rates on principal borrowings is that you could end up paying more on interest because the sum remains fixed, even as you pay down your loan. However, the above calculations do not consider the effects of compounding interest owed every year or in other words, the
effective interest rate (EIR)
.

Failing to consider this could lead you to perceive the interest expense as lower than they actually are in comparison to other loan products.

The EIR is
how much interest you are really paying after considering the compounding effect
 of adding your owed interest to the total amount due. EIR is significant because it helps you compare between loan products.

For example, if you have an option to either pay with your
credit card
 or take out a
personal loan
 to make a certain purchase, you could use the EIR to pit the credit card’s per annum interest rate against the personal loan’s effective interest rate to accurately estimate which would help you save more.

What’s the Usual Fixed Rate?

The usual fixed rate for personal loans start from 6% per annum and may be higher. When you look for a
personal loan with low interest
 it’s not easy to know exactly which rate will be offered because interest rates are dependent on a number of factors and vary between banks.

Your rate would first be determined by the loan amount. After that, the bank takes into account your credit history, annual earnings, loan term, credit history or credit rating and collateral (if any). It boils down to two basic considerations: the more you borrow and less risky you appear, the more favourable the interest rate you are offered.

Typically, a stable and middle to high income earner with a healthy credit history will enjoy a better rate overall.

Why Do Interest Rates Differ Between Loan Products?

Since each loan product carries different forms of risk and return possibilities, the interest rates applied will also show contrast. Personal loans are mostly unsecured and thus lenders take on a higher risk of providing funds with little option to recoup losses should borrowers default.

However, with car loans and home mortgages, the lender has the right to repossess the related asset and sell it off with the proceeds taken to offset the outstanding amount due.

Today, some banks require personal loans to be insured should the borrower be unable to make repayments due to death or disability. Credit card companies are also doing the same. The premium paid is usually borne by the borrower so it’s important to consider this cost as well when taking on an unsecured loan.

So, Are Personal Loans Worth The Interest?

With the convenience attached to personal loans such as immediate processing and fast release of funds for approved applications, you might ask, is it worth the interest rates that come with it?

For the most part, it gives consumers a safe option to obtain funds easily and quickly – when you need it. That said, there are other options that may be a better fit, like credit card balance transfer plans and easy payment plans.

Lastly, consider the necessity of the funds and its purpose and decide if the need outweighs the interest costs. In the end, it’s still a case of compare, compare, compare and
we’re always on hand to help you out
.

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Desiree Nair

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Singaporeans feeling the pinch of Credit Card Debt

It would appear that Malaysians aren’t the only ones in debt

trouble. The
Star

Newspaper reported that our neighbours in the South are also struggling to make

payments
with 12.7% more not making even minimum payments on their

unsecured debt as compared to last year.

The Credit Bureau of Singapore (CBS) said that the total had

hit 62,830 customers compared to 55,726 customers from last year.

Unsecured debt includes credit cards, overdrafts and

personal loans.

The total amount of unsecured debt in the country also rose

to S$230.7mil (RM591mil) from S$212.5mil (RM545mil) last year. Consumers are

now racking up a total of S$8,030 (RM20,500) per month on average in credit

card and overdraft debt.

This rise has caused the
Money

Authority of Singapore to launch new rules on unsecured loans
 in early

September 2013. The new rule prevents financial institutions from giving more

unsecured loans to people whose unsecured debt totals more than 12 months of

their income for 90 days or more. Bad news for credit card users constantly

carrying a balance!

But if you thought that the statistics could be attributed

to young, flashy Singaporean executives who crave the lavish lifestyle of

cocktails on the rooftop of
Marina Bay

Sands
 and branded togs from the shopping mall below; think again. CBS

research discovered that the highest number of delinquent paymasters come from

the ages of 35-39. CBS executive director William Lim said that major financial

commitments such as a first house or child could be what caused the people in

that age bracket requiring more financial assistance.

So, they needed the debt to raise a family and keep a roof

over their heads? Sounds flashy. Hopefully, the usual naysayers who lament the

glamourous, rich lifestyles of credit card debtors will take note.

It would appear that struggling Malaysians are not alone in

being unable to make ends meet due to ever rising inflation and costs of

living.

*Image courtesy of Andrew McMillan at Wikimedia Commons.

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Affin Bank Revises Terms For Weekend Cashback Benefit Of Affin BHPetrol Mastercard

Affin Bank is revising the terms of its Affin BHPetrol Mastercard credit card to introduce a previous balance requirement of RM3,000 for its weekend cashback benefit. Effective 15 October 2021, this requirement will determine whether you get 5% or 10% cashback for your purchases at BHPetrol stations during weekends.

Currently, Affin BHPetrol Mastercard cardholders enjoy cashback benefits of 2% on weekdays and 10% on weekends when they spend at BHPetrol stations, capped at a maximum of RM50 per month. Other retail transactions earn 1x AFFIN Rewards Points.

Starting from 15 October 2021, however, the card will be revised to include a balance requirement to unlock the cashback – similar to the ones Affin introduced for the
Affin Duo
 and
Affin Visa Signature
 recently. Essentially, only cardholders with a previous balance of RM3,000 and above will be entitled to earn the full 10% cashback, while those with a previous balance of less than RM3,000 will only get 5% cashback.

Meanwhile, the 2% weekday cashback and RM50 monthly limit both remain unchanged. The 1x AFFIN Rewards Points benefit is also retained for other retail transactions made using this card.

Here’s a table to summarise the revision to the Affin BHPetrol Mastercard:

Before 15 October 2021
From 15 October 2021
Cashback benefits (BHPetrol spend)
– 2% weekday cashback
– 10% weekend cashback
– 2% weekday cashback
– Weekend cashback: 5% (previous balance account less than RM3,000) or 10% (previous balance account RM3,000 and above)
AFFIN Rewards Points benefit (other retail transactions)
– 1x AFFIN Rewards Points
– 1x AFFIN Rewards Points

In its FAQ, Affin Bank clarified that the previous balance of the Affin BHPetrol Mastercard does not refer only to the expenses made at BHPetrol stations. Rather, it consists of all carried forward balance that appears in the current month credit card statement (including all other retail transactions).

With this upcoming amendment, Affin BHPetrol Mastercard cardholders will find it less convenient to earn cashback as compared to before, when there were no requirements to meet except to ensure that they spend during weekends.

(Source:
Affin Bank
)

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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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Maybank Will Cease Its MaybankPay Contactless Payment App On 20 July 2020

Maybank has announced that it will be terminating its contactless payment app, MaybankPay, on 20 July 2020. Accordingly, the bank will also remove its app from Google Play on the same date, as well as deactivate and delete all card accounts that are stored in the app.

In its
FAQ
, Maybank further suggested alternative contactless payment services that their customers can tap into. Samsung phone users, for instance, are advised to use Samsung Pay for their payment needs. Meanwhile, Android phone users can tap into the QRPay feature on the Maybank2u app.

(Image: The Star)

The MaybankPay app, which was launched in 2016, was originally meant as a payment app for NFC-enabled Android devices, leveraging on the feature to connect to payment terminals. However, it is limited in its convenience given that the app can only support Maybank’s Visa cards; to use MaybankPay, you need to link it to a Visa debit, credit, or prepaid card issued by the bank. Moreover, the app is compatible only with Visa’s PayWave terminals.

While Maybank did not reveal any plans to replace MaybankPay, the bank did suggest that “there will be something more exciting coming your way real soon.” It also mentioned that the bank is currently exploring other payment options to bring better service for customers in the future, requesting for its customers to stay tuned.

(Source:
The Star
)

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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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SC: Average Daily Transaction Value Of Digital Assets Fell By 55% In 2022

(Image: New Straits Times)

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) reported that the average daily transaction value of the local digital asset market has fallen from RM57.29 million in 2021 to RM25.75 million in 2022, equivalent to a 55.05% drop. This was revealed in the SC’s annual report for 2022 that was recently published.

Despite the drop in average daily transaction value, however, the SC noted that there was an increase in the number of new digital asset accounts that were created in 2022. Specifically, the market saw an addition of 128,000 new accounts since the end of 2021, which translated to a growth of 17%.

Additionally, the SC said that it had opened up applications for new market operators of digital asset exchanges (DAX) to register with the commission. This is in a bid to introduce other platforms with different value propositions, in addition to the four existing DAX operators that are already registered with the SC, namely Luno, MX Global, SINEGY, and Tokenize.

“Allowing more players to enter the market increases capital market vibrancy by widening the number of regulated exchange platforms for investors to invest in,” said the SC.

Aside from that, the commission also highlighted in its 2022 annual report that the digital investment management segment has accumulated a total assets under management (AUM) of more than RM1.39 billion as of the end of 2022. This comes following an expansion in the range of capital market offerings provided to investors.

The SC further noted that digital brokers are especially popular among retail investors who use online brokerage accounts, particularly among millennial investors, who make up 72% of their clientele base. “The increased retail interest in the equity market peaked [at 33%] in 2022 during this economic recovery comparatively to 2021, with digital brokers gaining a retail market share of 4%, with the total number of accounts having risen by more than 10% to approximately 276,000 in 2022,” said the SC. In comparison, the total number of online brokerage accounts in 2021 stood at approximately 251,000 accounts.

(Image: Malay Mail/Yusof Mat Isa)

Other key highlights that were also mentioned in the SC’s annual report for 2022 include the establishment of an internal task force by the SC to address scams and unlicensed activities, as well as the growth of equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platforms in meeting the funding needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Furthermore, the annual report also published the results of a stress test exercise by the SC to see whether Malaysia has sufficient liquidity buffers across all investment funds, in case investors decide to withdraw their investments en masse in extreme scenarios.

Aside from releasing its annual report for 2022, the SC also published the
Audit Oversight Board Annual Report 2022
 and its inaugural
Capital Market Stability Review 2022
.

(Sources:
Securities Commission Malaysia
,
The Edge Markets
)

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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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GoPayz Launches GoGold Feature, Allows Users To Buy Digital Gold Starting From RM5

GoPayz, the standalone e-wallet belonging to telco U Mobile, has rolled out a new digital gold trading feature that allows users to trade digital gold from as low as RM5. Dubbed GoGold, the feature is launched in collaboration with gold bullion trader ACE Capital Growth (ACE), which is a subsidiary of Ace Innovate Asia.

According to GoPayz, the GoGold feature is both secure and shariah-compliant, and it also offers one of the lowest gold price spreads in the Malaysian market. The low entry requirement of RM5 also offers great accessibility to the public as this means they do not need to collect a large amount of capital to begin investing.

On top of that, GoPayz also said that you can seamlessly convert your digital asset into physical gold from as low as 1g; there is no need to accumulate up a specific weight to do so. Other conversion options include 5g, 10g, 50g, 1 dinar, and 5 dinar.

In introducing the new feature, the chief marketing officer of U Mobile, Jasmine Lee said that GoGold will offer a huge flexibility to users. “We believe this is another way that GoPayz is making digital financial services accessible and affordable,” she said.

To register for the GoGold account from your GoPayz app, head on over to “Services”, and then tap on “Financial Services”. From there, look for “GoGold” to start the registration process. Once you’ve signed up for an account, you can then begin to purchase and sell digital gold. Note that payments for your purchases can be made either via the GoPayz e-wallet or through FPX.

In celebration of the launch of the new feature, GoPayz is currently running a campaign to reward early bird users who tap into GoGold. The campaign – which is slated to end on 21 September 2021 – is comprised of two deals, allowing you to win either digital gold worth RM5 or 1g of digital gold:

Deals
Rewards
Prize Caps
First 5,000 participants who upgrade their GoPayz e-wallet to the premium version within five working days from their GoGold registration
Digital gold worth RM5
5,000 winners
Spend a minimum of RM20 on GoGold via GoPayz, and stand a chance to win. Winners will be chosen from every 50
th
 transaction. (Participants’ GoPayz e-wallet must also be upgraded to premium within five working days from their GoGold registration.)
1g of digital gold
200 winners

Each participant is only entitled to win one reward for each deal throughout the whole campaign period. The reward for the first deal (digital gold worth RM5) will be credited into your GoGold account within 14 working days from the date of your successful registration. Meanwhile, the second deal (1g of digital gold) will be credited within 14 working days after the end of the campaign period.

You can find out more about
GoPayz’s new GoGold feature, as well as the ongoing promotion
 on its official website.

(Sources:
SoyaCincau
,
FintechNews Malaysia
)

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Reducing Credit Card Debts with 0% Balance Transfers

Using a credit card for daily expenses can garner us a huge load of rewards but could also be our downfall if we let the expenses spiral out of control.

Wouldn’t it be rather beneficial if you could reduce the interest and stagger the payments over months if the amount is too large to settle at one go? Or even better, use a credit card to pay off another credit card? If you like that idea maybe you should look into a balance transfer.

What is a Balance Transfer?

Balance transfer essentially takes the existing debt on one card and moves it to another card, provided your credit limit is sufficient. Of course it is not as simple as swiping the card on your next bill and paying off the balance.

You would have to apply to transfer the amount of your choosing, along with a selected tenure. The amount being transferred will be subjected to a new and lower interest rate or a processing fee. The sum being transferred will have to be in accordance to a minimum amount stipulated by the bank as well.

Once the amount has been approved, you will then make staggered payments in accordance to the agreement, depending on if your balance transfer has
fixed payments or flexible payments
.

How Does it Reduce Debt?

Using a balance transfer programme makes it easier to make repayments as they are broken down over a certain period and incorporates lower interest to make it affordable. This in turn will eventually help your budget and finances fall back into a better regulated form as you gradually make payments.

Instead of making partial payments and serving the interest on all the remaining balance of your credit card, you can take advantage of a lower interest rate and enjoy significant savings. Some balance transfers go as low as 0% interest per annum, however the bank may impose a processing fee instead.

Even if you picked out a balance transfer with a rate of 7.77% per annum, you would still be enjoying a certain amount of savings when compared to compounding interest of a normal credit card that could sit as high as 18% per annum.

The table below displays the balance transfers which currently have a 0% interest rate and the minimum amount required for each of these banks.

For a full list of balance transfers check out our
comparison tool
 and apply for a credit card that has the right balance transfer feature for you to take advantage of.

If you have any tips and tricks for reducing credit card debts, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

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Top Tips to Get Your Loan Approved When You’re Self-Employed

Whether you’re freelancing, consulting, or running your own business, applying for a loan when you’re self-employed may be slightly more trying than if you were an employee at an established company.

Sure, you may be raking in the big bucks – more than what you made back when you were working the 9 to 5 – but most banks and lenders tend to be more cautious towards self-employed applicants. It may not be obvious to many, but banks and lenders look for consistency in income in order to be sure that you’re able to pay them back during your loan tenure.

But, getting a loan when you’re self-employed is not impossible. In fact, many have gotten their loan applications approved before you. Follow our tips on how to increase your loan approval chances when you’re self-employed below and you just might your loan application approved too!

1. Keep Organised Financial Records

When you’re running your own show, it’s easy to get complacent and lose track of where your hard-earned money went to.

But this is not a habit you’d want to keep if you want to look good to the banks and lenders. Keep a folder for all your important financial documents, such as
income tax documents
, business banking statements, as well as other proof of income.

If you own a business, be sure to register your business with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) and keep all your registration documents and certificates. Always update your folder with the latest copies so you’ll always have it on hand when the bank or lender asks you to provide your proof of income or business.

2. Open a Current Account

Although this is not a standard (and proven) practice, banks and lenders tend to take self-employed loan applicants more seriously if they have a current account – particularly if it’s registered under your business or company.

If you’re running your own business, having a current account makes it easier for you to track and facilitate your transactions – not to mention that it may help you appear more stable to the eyes of the banks and lenders. Don’t have one yet? Take a look at our comprehensive list of current accounts that are being offered in the market
on our current account products page now
!

If you’re freelancing and aren’t keen on opening a current account, try opening a separate savings account specifically for your income and work spends so it’s easier for you and the banks and lenders to see the frequency and average amount of your income.

3. Contribute to EPF

While it’s not mandatory for you to contribute to the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
 if you’re self-employed, it helps to strengthen your financial track record to the eyes of the banks and lenders. It lets them know that your finances are stable enough that you’re able to make contributions to EPF, as well as letting them know that you care about your monetary future.

Besides, you can withdraw the money from your EPF account when you retire or when you want to purchase a mortgage – it’s a win-win.

Want to know what else you can withdraw your EPF for? Take a deeper dive on the subject by reading our
Everything You Need to Know About The EPF
 article.

4. Get a Guarantor Who Has a Strong Financial Background

Having a guarantor – such as your family member or close friends – who has a strong financial background could help boost your loan application. He or she should be someone who has a solid employment and financial record, as well as a healthy credit score to help reduce your risks as a self-employed applicant.

Just be sure to make your loan repayments on time so that you won’t damage your guarantor’s credit record.

5. Choose a Bank With Experience in Lending to Self-Employed Applicants

Not all banks and lenders are comfortable with lending to self-employed applicants, so it’s better to save your time and approach those that have experience in helping those who are self-employed. Keep a look out for banks and lenders who offer flexible repayments, accepts alternative income documents, as well as competitive interest rates on their loan products.

6. Have a Prior Credit History

In order for a bank or lender to know how good you are with making your payments on time, it’s wise to have a credit facility – such as a credit card – for them to refer to when deciding on whether to borrow you money.

If you already have a credit card, be sure to pay your monthly bills on time and keep your credit score at a healthy level. Keep your monthly balances as low as possible – or pay them all down – and try not to max out your credit limit.

If you don’t already have one, there’s still time for you to apply for a credit card and kick-start your credit record. Have a look at our comprehensive list of the
best credit cards in Malaysia and apply for the one that suits your spending habit
 without having to even leave your seat!

Have you ever applied for a loan when you’re self-employed? Do you have any tips to share to help other readers with their applications? Share your experiences and thoughts with us in the comment section below!

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Going Abroad For Studies, Business, Or Leisure? Manage 11 Currencies In One Account Easily With HSBC

In a globalised world today, it may become more common for people to travel abroad frequently whether it’s for studies, work, or holiday. Although travelling is exciting, it can involve a lot of preparations for your finances including researching about foreign bank accounts, learning about preferred payment methods, and more. What if there was a way for you to manage your finances abroad easily without even needing to open a foreign bank account?

The HSBC Everyday Global Account is a multi-currency savings account that provides all the usual banking functions such as making deposits, transfers, and withdrawals both in Malaysia and abroad. This all-in-one account is made for avid travellers who want to continue enjoying everyday banking services seamlessly across borders.

If you’ve been looking for a global savings account, here are 4 reasons why you could consider the HSBC Everyday Global Account.

1.
Hold multiple currencies in a single account

When planning a trip overseas, one of the first things you need to do is prepare some local currencies so you can have the reassurance of arriving at your destination with some money on hand. However, converting your money can get overwhelming with long queues, extra fees, and unattractive exchange rates, so why wait in line and pay additional cost when there’s a more convenient method available?

With HSBC Everyday Global Account, you get to hold Malaysian Ringgit and 10 other major foreign currencies including Singapore Dollar, United States Dollar, and Great Britain Pound Sterling in a single account. It also lets you withdraw cash in the local currency at automated teller machines around the world. Otherwise, top up your account on the go anytime online, which can come in handy when you’re exploring a certain region and need access to multiple currencies.

In addition, you will also get to instantly transfer your currencies with Global Transfers* and access competitive real-time exchange rates. This means you can conveniently convert your currencies digitally and secure the favoured exchange rates, which means no more physically queuing to convert your money at money exchangers, hotels, or airports.

2.
Find familiarity in your everyday banking experience

When you’re travelling to a foreign land, you will be encountering new cultures, lifestyles, and even weather conditions that might require some time to adapt to. With the Everyday Global Account, you can find some familiarity in your everyday banking experience and focus on your studies, work, or trip abroad. Why stress yourself with unfamiliar banking methods when you can simply enjoy your long-awaited trip?

For those who are constantly travelling between two or more countries, you might be relieved to know that the HSBC Everyday Global Account lets you manage, view, and make online transfers to all your worldwide HSBC personal accounts instantly. Specifically, you can make payments and receive funds in 11 currencies within one account. You can also pay bills easily via online and mobile banking with JomPay to over 5,000 billers. For example, if you’re currently working overseas, you can transfer your salary to your personal account in Malaysia via Global Transfers and pay bills for your subscriptions in Malaysia.

3.
Get rewarded for your lifestyle

The HSBC Everyday Global Account offers benefits that are aligned to your international lifestyle where you get the flexibility to save more with discounts when you use your debit card here and around the world.

When you’re shopping online or in stores overseas, you can use local currencies without needing to pay any transaction fees if you’re an existing HSBC Premier and HSBC Advance customer. So, when you want to purchase an item online from Amazon.com, you can pay for the items in foreign currency as well.

For example, if you decide to buy an item priced at USD500, the bank will deduct the amount in USD from your Everyday Global Account with no hidden charges. Now, what if you don’t have sufficient USD in your account? Then, the bank will automatically convert and charge the items from your MYR account instead.

4.
Enjoy cashback and attractive interest rates

Now that you’ve learned more about the Everyday Global Account, you might be interested to sign up for it. You can get started easily – anyone who is the age of 18 years old and above can open an HSBC Everyday Global Account online in just three steps. There is no minimum balance required, no monthly or annual account fee, and no fees for debit card issuance, so it’s the perfect tool for students who are planning to further their education abroad but don’t want to go through the hassle of opening a foreign bank account. Everyday Global Account also comes with a Shariah compliant alternative, the Everyday Global Account-i for you to choose from.

If you open the Everyday Global Account with HSBC now, you’re entitled to get up to RM30 cashback when you perform five eligible transactions – each with a minimum amount of RM20 – within the first 30 days after your debit card issuance. In addition, HSBC is offering Everyday Global Account holders the opportunity to earn up to 3% per annum rates from now until 31 August 2022. Find out more about how you can earn up to 3% per annum rates
here
.

***

Now that the borders have opened and we’re resuming our pre-Covid activities, you might be ready to travel soon whether it’s for studies, work, or holiday. If you’re planning to study abroad or take some trips overseas, HSBC’s Everyday Global Account could be the perfect travel companion for easy management of your finances in multiple currencies.

Interested to know more about HSBC Everyday Global Account? Find out
here.

Ready to open a HSBC Everyday Global Account? Apply
here
.

*For HSBC Amanah Premier or HSBC Amanah Advance customers only. Subject to destination country/region’s local regulation and HSBC internal policy requirement. HSBC Amanah Premier and HSBC Amanah Advance customers enjoy zero transfer fees. Instant foreign currency to foreign currency exchange transfer is available 24 hours 7 days. Transfer involving Ringgit Malaysia is from Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm. If you perform any transfer outside those hours, the actual amount to be debited will be based on the next business day’s exchange rate.

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Why You Should Check Out Hyde Tower @ i-City

Hyde Tower
 @ i-City is one of the hot properties we’ve been talking about on our blog recently and with good reasons. There’s plenty of things going for it and we think it’s worth checking out if you’re in the market for a new place to call home or invest in. But why exactly do we hype it up so much? Let’s go through their top attributes, one by one!

Location, Location, Location

A great building with full amenities can still be a pain to deal with if the location is less than optimal. Hyde Tower has no such problems. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Being next to a Double Tree Hilton, Malaysia’s Largest Thai Mall, an LRT station and with access to the Federal Highway, it’s superbly well-connected and easy to get in and out of. Which makes it ideal for travel to and from work while also staying close to shopping and entertainment spots.

Safe for Work and Play

Security is nothing to sneeze at also here. 24-hour security means you don’t have to worry about your place when you’re away. And if you choose to stay indoors, there’s a gymnasium and swimming pool for you to stay active without leaving the compound. If you have children or plan to have them, you can bring them out to the playground, too.

Investment-Ready

As great as it is to stay in, Hyde Tower @ i-City also has great potential as an investment opportunity. It’s not just that the location is in the rapidly developing i-City area, it’s also because the units are fully-furnished. Which means you can rent them out via AirBnB right away and recoup your investments as quickly as possible.

Affordability

Many people might shy away from making purchases when it comes to property with the way the market is going, but with a starting price from only RM360,000, Hyde Tower is a smart choice for those looking to invest in a home that is not only comfortable and fun to live in, but makes for a great future investment at the same time.

Freehold

Ah, the magic word when it comes to buying a property. It just makes more sense to be buying a freehold property rather than having a contract and paying service charges, fees, and all sorts of nonsense. You’ll be responsible for everything and in control of your own property, which is what Hyde Tower offers.

There you have it: the many reasons why you should check out this hot piece of property before everyone else does. Don’t miss out!

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Govt Set To Tax Imported Goods Below RM500 Bought Online, Starting 2023

The government is on track to implement its plan to begin taxing imported low-value goods (LVG) that are bought online starting from 1 January 2023, as was previously announced during the tabling of Budget 2022. This is as authorities have already begun to hold dialogues with relevant stakeholders to iron out the required details.

To clarify, imported goods with a total value of less than RM500 per consignment – described as LVG – are currently exempted from sales tax when they are brought in using air courier services through selected international airports. This exclude items such as cigarettes, tobacco, and liquor.

Come 1 January 2023, however, this exemption is set to be removed, and LVG will be taxed a flat rate of 10%. This is applicable to both resident and foreign sellers offering such products, who are expected be registered under the LVG mechanism so that they can collect the tax when customers make their purchases online.

(Image: Malay Mail/Ahmad Zamzahuri)

This move was introduced primarily to ensure equal tax treatment for locally manufactured and imported goods, as local manufacturers are currently subject to a 5% or 10% sales tax, thereby putting them at a disadvantage. With this, it is also hoped that Malaysians will be encouraged to purchase locally made products.

On top of that, Malaysia also sought to follow in the footsteps of other countries that have successfully implemented such a tax, including Australia and New Zealand. Singapore, too, is set to begin enforcing a similar tax on LVG – at 7% in 2023, before eventually raising it to 9% in 2025.

The Malaysian government is still in the midst of ironing out the finer details on how the LVG mechanism is to be implemented by the Customs, and will reveal the necessary procedures and processes soon. Relevant authorities have also noted that they will continue to engage stakeholders in order to successfully implement the LVG tax scheme by early 2023.

(Source:
The Sun Daily
)

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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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CIMB Launches CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i Credit Card For Affluent Customers

CIMB has unveiled its latest credit card offering, the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i credit card, which is designed as the Islamic counterpart of the existing conventional CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite credit card. Described as a card that offers “distinct benefits that are aligned to positive values, centred around the three main pillars of protection, conservation, and rewards”, this new card also offers up to 8x Bonus Points for selected transactions, in addition to Takaful protection and various other forms of insurance coverage for eligible cardholders.

The CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i credit card allows you to earn 1x and 2x Bonus Points for every RM1 spent on local and overseas transactions, respectively. However, these points earning can subsequently be boosted up to the maximum 8x for selected payments when the cardholder maintains a minimum aggregated total deposit and/or investment of RM250,000 with CIMB at all times. Specifically, cardholders can get:

Additional 7x Bonus Points for local dining expenses,
zakat
 or
sadaqah
 transactions
Additional 6x Bonus Points for overseas spend

Note as well that these additional Bonus Points will only be awarded on a quarterly basis. The points earned can then be redeemed for holiday or
umrah
 packages, or be converted into donations for new charities and
waqf
 (in addition to the usual gifts, vouchers, or air miles redemptions).

Aside from the 8x Bonus Points benefit, CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i cardholders will also be entitled to premium Takaful protection, including travel coverage of RM1 million, personal accident coverage of RM100,000, and up to RM10,000 for outstanding card balances. This is in addition to an extended protection of RM100 per day for hospital allowance, a
Badal Haji
 benefit of RM3,000, and
Qurban
 contribution of RM750.

On top of that, cardholders are also offered various travel rewards, including 8x access to selected Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide from today until 28 February 2023. To tap into this perk, however, you must again ensure that you have a minimum aggregated total deposit and/or investment of RM250,000 with CIMB. Additionally, you can enjoy preferential foreign exchange rates at CIMB’s currency exchange booths in Malaysia, as well as Visa concierge privileges.

The CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i also includes a nod to CIMB’s commitment to sustainability; the card is made from 82% biodegradable polyactic acid (PLA) material, thereby removing more than 80% of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the card. In effect, it reduces the carbon footprint of the card, making it an eco-friendly card.

According to the chief executive officer of the CIMB Group Islamic Banking, Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, this new offering is a
shariah
-compliant financial solution that is tailored to CIMB customers’ beliefs and values. “Above and beyond the elite privileges catering to personal banking and lifestyle experience, the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i credit card will also provide our customers with an opportunity to understand the importance of an Islamic credit card and its positive and meaningful impact on their wealth planning as well as social philanthropy,” he said.

Ahmad Shariman also emphasised that the bank will strive to meet the needs of this market segment that aligns with moral principles, while making
shariah
-compliant transactions easy, secure, and rewarding for its cardholders.

As its name implies, the CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i credit card is only available to CIMB Preferred customers (when you meet any of the minimum requirements, namely having RM250,000 in deposit and investments, RM1 million in home financing and business premises financing, or RM300,000 in hire purchase financing). Annual fee is waived for both the principal and supplementary card.

As mentioned earlier, this new CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite-i credit card has a conventional counterpart as well: the
CIMB Preferred Visa Infinite credit card
. Similar to the Islamic version, it also lets you earn up to 8x Bonus Points for selected payments, along with travel and insurance coverage perks.

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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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Affin Bank Announces Discontinuation Of Five Credit Cards

(Image: NSTP)

Affin Bank has announced the discontinuation of five credit cards, effective 10 December 2020. The discontinued credit cards are:

AffinBank Mastercard Classic

AffinBank Visa Classic

AffinBank Touch ‘n Go Mastercard Classic

AffinBank Touch ‘n Go Mastercard Gold

Affin Islamic Mastercard Classic

Those holding these cards may continue to use them as usual until it expires. Then, if your card requires replacement or renewal, you will be issued with a new credit card: the
AffinBank Mastercard Gold
 for the three discontinued Mastercards, the
AffinBank Visa Gold
 to replace the AffinBank Visa Classic, and the
Affin Islamic Mastercard Gold
 to replace the Affin Islamic Mastercard Classic.

Replacement cards will be issued with the same card number as before and any existing standing instruction and auto-billing will remain valid. The annual fee will follow that of the new replacement card – which stands at RM150 for the Mastercard Gold and RM75 for the other two credit cards. However, the annual fees for these cards can be waived with a minimum of 12 retail transactions in a year.

For Affin Touch ‘n Go Mastercard holders who would like to obtain a refund for their Touch ‘n Go (TNG) reload balances, you can make a request to TNG directly and have the balance credited to any one of your active TNG cards.

(Source:
Affin Bank
)

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Is It Expensive to Launch a Startup?

For the better part of history, a significant amount of capital and experience were the usual prerequisites for starting a company. Young founders were a rarity, rather than a norm.

However, the startup landscape is an entirely different beast today. Technological innovation drove the cost of running a startup to a fraction of what it was as recent as ten years ago, making it perfectly viable for any enterprising 20-year old with an idea and a laptop to launch a startup.

Unfortunately the prevailing mindset in Malaysia is still one where taking on secure,
parent-approved
 jobs in medicine, law, engineering, finance and auditing is the best career choice for under 30s.

Here are a few reasons why that is no longer a true assessment of the career landscape and why it has never been easier for a young person with little cash to initiate his or her own startup.

Starting Up Has Never Been Cheaper

There are plenty of ways to
bootstrap
 your startup, that is to kickstart your venture without any external funding, relying instead on internal cashflow and achieving self-sustainability by keeping costs lean.

The advent of software-as-a-service (SaaS) enabled startups to bootstrap like never before. The SaaS model is where users access a software hosted on a cloud rather than a local installation on the user’s own hardware. Opting for SaaS allows users to scale back on hardware procurement and software maintenance costs.

Most SaaS providers operate on a pay-as-you-use model, which means founders can trim their startup’s cost by paying only for what they use.

Parse
 is a great example of how SaaS helps founders bootstrap their startups. While simple mobile apps can function without a backend, apps with features like a user database or anything that requires data to be stored would have to rely on an external backend system to manage the data.

Back in the old days of mobile app development, the solution was to build a web backend for apps to store and retrieve data. The problem was that it required app developers to possess web development and database management knowledge or hire someone with those expertise. There is also the extra cost of hosting a web backend.

Parse provides a cheap and elegant solution by giving app developers a cloud-based backend that is maintained and hosted by Parse. Developers pay Parse based on how much bandwith they use. Apps intended for a small number of users could even survive on Parse’s free pricing tier.

SaaS streamlined the process of app development to the point where any individual with a laptop could build the next Whatsapp or Instagram.

A big part of bootstrapping involves keeping your outfit lean by minimising the number of technical hires required to build your startup. A good number of founders from non-technical backgrounds take up coding to build the early iterations of their products so as to not spend precious funds on hiring developers.

Picking up coding once required the willpower of a marathon runner as you slog through boring programming books and documentations to learn a programming language. The proliferation of free online coding schools made the process of teaching yourself coding less arduous.

Codecademy
 and
Khan Academy
 provide interactive programming lessons which put the fun into learning (as learning should be in the first place). Don’t take my word for it. Give Codecademy’s
web development course
 a spin.

Bootstrapping options are not exclusive to tech startups. Dipping your toe into e-commerce is a breeze compared to a decade ago. Aspiring e-commerce founders no longer have to suffer an unprofessional web presence for their online store if they do not have the funds to hire web developers and web designers whose costs range from RM1,500 to RM5,000 just to set a website up.

Shopify
 and
Bigcommerce
 allow founders to set up sleek webstore in an hour without the need to type a single line of HTML. They offer comprehensive e-commerce solutions which include payment processors integration, inventory management, analytics and pretty much everything found in a professionally-designed webstore.

External Funding Options

Bootstrapping is great to get the ball rolling, but what if you are looking for funds to push your startup to the next level? Startup funding in Malaysia has been increasingly accessible in the past few years. You are unlikely to have to invest a significant amount of your own capital to grow your plucky outfit into (hopefully) the next big thing.

Besides established names in the local funding game like
Cradle
 and
MDEC
, new entrants into like
1337 Accelerator
 introduced extra avenues for budding founders to raise funding to grow their startups.

Hardware startups traditionally require a large amount of funds to get off the ground. From development to manufacturing costs, getting a hardware company up and running incurred such a high cost it was not a feasible venture for young people.

Thanks to crowdfunding sites like
Kickstarter
 and
Indiegogo
 it has never been easier to raise funds for a hardware startup.

Crowdfunding sites work by giving founders a platform to raise capital for their
projects
.

Founders would put their product pitch on Kickstarter or Indiegogo with a campaign goal. Anyone interested in the product could pledge a sum of money and if the campaign goal is achieved, the founders would receive the funds to build their products. If the campaign goal is not achieved, those who have pledged money for the project would not be charged.

These crowdfunding platforms also act as a tool to gauge market interest. It is safe to assume there is a veritable market interest if the project hits its campaign goal.
Oculus Rift
 and
Pebble
 both started their life as extremely popular Kickstarter campaigns before they evolved into the behemoths they are today.

Closing Thoughts

Malaysia is no Silicon Valley, nor are we even close to Singapore when it comes the robustness of our startup community, although recent initiatives like
MaGIC
 aims to bolster it.

However, that should not deter any enterprising young person from pursuing their ideas. SaaS and crowdfunding sites are location agnostic, it does not matter if you are in Malaysia, Singapore, or Silicon Valley. All you need to build a successful startup is an idea, a laptop and lots of
coffee
 enthusiasm.

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The Cheapest Ways to Watch the Rio Olympics 2016 Live!

The Rio Olympics 2016 is here and we’re as excited as you are! We have our local athletes representing the country on the world stage, our favourite international players competing as well, and this event comes only once every four years. It’s exceptionally special event.

You know what else is special? Your wallet. There are many ways to watch the games this year, but you don’t want to break the bank just to keep up with the international games, right? Of course not. In our tradition to bring you the best for your money,
even when it comes to television
, we bring you the cheapest ways to watch this year’s Olympics!

But First, Use Google

No, we’re not telling you to do your own research and find cheap ways to watch on your own. That won’t be helpful at all. What’s helpful is when you type in “Olympic Games Rio 2016” or some variant thereof, you’ll see this:

A list of the events, which countries are participating, and when they’re happening in local time. This way, you can plan out your viewing so you don’t miss out . Time is money, and managing the former means optimising your energy to save more on the latter.

Now, on to the three broadcasters you can choose from to watch in Malaysia:

1. RTM

Price
: Free / However much you’re paying for your internet

RTM is the old school government-run broadcasting body in Malaysia and they’ll be beaming the Olympics straight to your living room, completely free of charge. That is, if your living room has a TV with the rabbit ear antennae. You can also watch it online via
MyKlik
, at no extra charge. Not in HD, though.

Good For
: People who have a really old television set and like things free

Bad For
: People who watch their content on devices built after Merdeka

2. HyppTV

Price
: RM50 per month or free with your most basic UniFi subscription (RM160 at its lowest)

HyppTV is Malaysia’s premier broadband iptv service which also deliver the Olympics through their network of underground data cables. While they don’t have any extra Rio 2016-specific content, they might be the most accessible at the highest quality for the lowest price point.

Good For
: People who already have UniFi

Bad For
: People who want extra content alongside their summer games

3. Astro

Price
: RM96.41 per month for the sports package

Astro is the long-time player in the satellite television game and they’ll also be
bringing the summer games
 to your television set. You can drop some more cash on their mobile Astro-On-the-Go service if you’d rather watch on your smart devices, too. Astro also provides extra content around the games like commentary, recap shows, and the like.

Good For
: People who already have Astro, and look forward to localised content built around the Olympics

Bad For
: People who like to watch TV even when it rains. People who don’t already have Astro, since right now it’s the most expensive option

There you have it! All the choices you can make aside from planning your days around mamak restaurant visits. We hope you can use this article to make a better informed decision on where to catch the Olympics this year. Happy viewing!

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3 Reasons To Consider An Intel® EVO™ Powered Device

In today’s world, almost everything is technologically-powered. Just through a few taps on our phones, we’re able to get our desired meal delivered to our doorstep, purchase plane tickets to visit that destination on our bucket list, pay for all our bills, and more. Besides the perpetual evolution of smartphone technology, laptops have also evolved rapidly in recent decades.

Laptops are important for a number of reasons especially if their sole purpose is to get work done. Most individuals seek out a laptop that’s both capable and reliable, since this may be a good indicator of a fulfilling experience.

Meet Intel EVO

In late 2020, Intel®’s 11th Gen Core™ mobile processors (CPU) together with Intel® Iris® Xe integrated graphics created a new platform known as Intel® EVO™. The EVO™ platform is designed to keep up with today’s fast-paced lifestyle, no matter what that may encompass. For devices to carry Intel® EVO™’s badge of honour, the laptops are required to check multiple boxes so they can comfortably carve an enjoyable experience for the user.

Let’s explore three reasons to consider as to whether or not to include an Intel® EVO™ powered device in your arsenal.

1)

Less downtime with all-day battery

For a laptop to carry the Intel® EVO™ name, it has to offer fast charging. How fast, you ask? Typically, it has to offer at least nine hours of usage on a single charge but this only applies to Full HD laptops, so for those running 1440p and higher, it may vary.

This means you won’t get an eyesore with clunky charging cables messing up your workspace since they won’t have to be constantly plugged into your device. Those who often find themselves with close to 0% battery at times when they actually have to use them might find the fast-charging feature handy.

2) Fast wireless and wired connectivity

Devices with the Intel® EVO™ platform are equipped with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard, promising fast wireless connections. Wi-Fi 6 has a host of advanced benefits such as more efficient bandwidth sharing, which means it won’t be much of an issue when other devices are simultaneously transferring data.

In terms of wired connectivity, Intel® EVO™ platform-based laptops include Thunderbolt 4 ports, which are USB-C sized connectors capable of transmitting data at 40Gbps. Not only that, devices powered by Intel Evo are also charged through the Thunderbolt port and not proprietary connectors.

3) Instant Wake

Another feature you’ll find in Intel® EVO™ powered devices is how quick it wakes from sleep. Instead of having to wait for the blank screen to load as you flip open the lid, the platform features a wake time of less than one second – in other words, instant.

This means you’ll have more time to focus on being productive with the tasks at hand.

***

If you’re interested to learn which devices are equipped with Intel® EVO™, visit the online store to shop for your brand new device as the March Madness Sales is still ongoing but ending very soon on 31 March 2022. The range includes a variety of laptops from reputable manufacturers and includes traditional laptop forms as well as convertible 2-in-1 laptops.

Hurry and get yours today!
Click here
 to visit the online store.

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Investment Diversification – Key To Greater Potential Returns

Getting more for your money isn’t just a selfish pursuit of frugality meant to benefit just ourselves. Often, the savings we make and the utility we gain from being smart with our expenses are passed down to the people we care for.

Preparing for the future of our loved ones involves saving up for the rainy days, as well as creating a nest egg for their survival in tough times to come.

Making Your Investment-linked Insurance Plan Work For You

Investment-linked insurance allows you to combine protection, investment and savings all into one plan. A portion of the premiums paid are used to purchase units in investment-linked funds of your choice. Every month, some of the units are deducted from your policy to pay for insurance cover and other charges, while the rest of the units remain in the investment pool.

To get the best of protection, investment and savings through investment-linked insurance plans, observe the following:

Determine your needs

Are you purchasing an investment-linked insurance plan for yourself / your loved one primarily for protection or for investment purpose? Investment-linked insurance plans offer the flexibility to vary your protection and investment levels, which traditional plans can’t do. Speak to your financial advisor for advice on determining the right mix of funds based on your needs and objective.

Know your risk appetite

There is a wide range of funds to suit the different risk appetites and needs. Conservative funds such as fixed income funds offer relatively lower but consistent and stable returns. At the other end of the spectrum, dynamic funds such as equity funds offer attractive capital appreciation over the longer term but may seem volatile in the short term.

Stay Diversified

With global macroeconomic challenges, you would need greater safety in your investment strategy, and that safety will only come with diversification of asset classes.

Spreading Out Your Investment Risk with Foreign Funds

All savvy investors would know that investment diversification is key to reducing investment risks and maximising the potential overall returns. Typically, a diversified investment portfolio should be able to weather through economic booms and busts since the performance of the various investment assets is not headed in the same direction at the same time.

In line with its commitment to providing solutions that enable customers to protect and strengthen their financial well-being, Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad (ZIMB) has added three more foreign equity funds to its range of investment-linked funds to give customers more opportunities to diversify their investment portfolio.

Foreign Funds

Zurich China Edge Fund

Zurich India Edge Fund

Zurich Global Edge Fund

Zurich Europe Edge Fund
[NEW]

Zurich US Edge Fund
[NEW]

Zurich Health Edge Fund
[NEW]

Investing into foreign funds is one of the easiest ways to gain investment exposure to foreign equities as a form of diversification.

Incidentally, ZIMB is the first and only insurer to offer a foreign equity fund that invests into the health care sector. The Zurich Health Care Fund invest its assets in the Vanguard Health Care Fund for exposure to U.S. and global companies principally engaged in the development, production, or distribution of products and services related to the health care industry. There is huge potential in pharmaceuticals as well as health care equipment, technology, and managed health care companies; as health care consumption grows in tandem with the aging population across the world.

Additionally, economies that show signs of recovery and growth offer attractive opportunities for you to capitalise on relatively cheaper equities that can net you potential upside returns over a longer term.

ZIMB’s latest offerings include the Zurich Europe Edge Fund and Zurich US Edge Fund, which invest into the developed markets in the Europe and the US respectively. ZIMB’s foreign equity funds cover both emerging and developed markets with different economic cycles; and each fund provides capital appreciation over a long-term horizon. Spreading out your investments across the world definitely mitigates the challenges of storing your nest egg in only one currency whose value might be dropping.

ZIMB’s decision to add the new foreign equity funds further proves their dedication to helping you both protect your family and grow your wealth at the same time.

If you’re keen to know more about ZIMB’s range of investment-linked funds, give them a ring at 1-300-888-622 or visit their official
website
.

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