After much anticipation, Maybank credit and debit card owners can breathe a sigh of relief as Google Wallet has finally added support for Maybank customers. This means that Maybank cards can now be added to Google Wallet for offline payments via NFC. Google Wallet is a contactless mobile payment platform that first arrived on the shores of Malaysia in November 2022. However, Maybank’s cards were noticeably absent from the list of available payment options. At the time, the app only supported a handful of local participating banks. According to the list of compatible cards available on the May ..read more

The Ministry of Finance has announced that they will organise the Micro, Small and Medium (MSME) Enterprise Jerayawara Financing initiative at four locations in Sarawak, from 11 to 27 May. In a statement posted on their Facebook, the programme is part of their efforts to galvanise the MSME landscape in Sarawak, while also demonstrating the government’s commitment to help the MSMEs to thrive. The MSME Jerayawara Financing initiative will be held from 8.30am to 4.30pm at the Islamic Information Centre in Kuching on 11 May, Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) in Sibu on 21 May, Universiti Putra ..read more

Financial planners and advisers must be ready to offer investment advice that is attuned to the needs this next generation of tech-first millennial generation. Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Awang Adek Hussin made this observation in his keynote address at the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) Financial Planning Symposium 2024. SC Chairman, Dato’ Seri Dr. Awang Adek Hussin This year the symposium focused on key trends to help financial planners to be better equipped to ride the winds of change that will come with this intergenerational wealth tran ..read more

A recent UNICEF report has revealed the massive toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has left on Malaysia. According to the United Nations report, one in every two children in low-income households in Kuala Lumpur eat fewer than three meals a day. This is a result of rising inflation which has forced the capital’s poorest families to forgo food. Despite the ongoing efforts to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic, recovery has been uneven as the weak ringgit has left families dealing with higher prices of basic foods like rice and chicken due to increased import costs. The report stated that a ..read more

It appears that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is currently under no pressure to follow the lead of the Indonesian central bank in raising the overnight policy rate (OPR). According to reporting by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), economist Geoffrey Williams said that there is currently no need for any pre-emptive move to raise interest rates to keep inflation in check and stabilise the ringgit. “There is no pressure on BNM to raise interest rates as monetary policy in Malaysia has been well handled. Headline inflation is in line with historical averages, the economy is forecast to grow, and the financ ..read more

The Monetary Policy Committee  (MPC) of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) meets every three months to announce decisions made in managing the country’s monetary policy. One of these decisions is whether to raise, maintain or decrease the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR). What is the OPR rate? The Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) is the interest rate at which a bank lends to another bank. This rate is set by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). This rate has an effect on the country’s employment, economic growth and inflation. It is an indicator of the health of a country’s overall economy and banking system. For ..read more

Last year, Rakuten Trade made waves alongside Tesla Malaysia’s debut, launching the innovative ‘Tesla Share Giveaway’ Campaign. The fully digital broking services provider followed this with the ‘Trade Smart & Win A Tesla’ Campaign, which offered a lucky Malaysian the chance to Tesla Model Y. Tesla winner had made over 200 trades in Q4 2024 According to the statement provided by Rakuten Trade, one of the fortunate winners was Mr. Yee Yit Tong, a 39-year-old engineer from Tapah, Perak. He had begun using Rakuten Trade in 2019. Yee praised the platform’s user-friendly interface, low brokera ..read more

GX Bank Berhad (GXBank), Zurich General Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad, have just announced a 10-year exclusive bancassurance tripartite partnership to co-create micro protection products for underserved Malaysians. Through the use of data-driven insights and intuitive technologies, GXBank will work with Zurich Malaysia to create new and innovative insurance products that are simple, affordable, and user-friendly, to address customer pain points. The first product that is being developed is set to be released in the third quarter of 2024. It aims to  ..read more

Owning a home is one of the major life goals of most people. However, reaching that goal is often difficult and unrealistic if only relying on one’s salary. This is why most will choose to apply for a home loan to help pay for their home.  If you delve deep into the specifics, a home loan can be quite complex and difficult to understand. However, the most important thing to know is that you will be paying your lender a monthly fee plus interest for quite a long while. Considering how long these repayment terms tend to be, you will likely be racking up thousands of Ringgit worth of intere ..read more

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has recently put out a notice explaining that there will be a disruption to its online system on 10 to 11 May. The system is expected to come back online on 12 May. As such, EPF members are advised to plan their transactions accordingly during the disruption period. Source: EPF EPF Akaun Fleksibel (Account 3) to be implemented 11 May Based on the timeframe, the disruption will likely be taking place at the same time as the EPF’s account restructuring. It was only just recently that the EPF announced the launch of the hotly-debated Account 3, which is slate ..read more