Seriously…Banking CAN Be Better.
Can Banking Be Better? I’m sure it’s a question you’ve asked yourself before, even a topic you’ve discussed with your friends. Everyone has complaints about the banking system here, as a foreigner here in Malaysia I probably have more than most.
A few things that irk me are..
- The fact I need a guarantor for loans, I’m not going anywhere seriously..
- The fact I can’t get a credit card without a fixed deposit, then I get a credit limit equal to the FD..how does that make sense?
- The fact that charges when banking foreign cheques are extortionate (handling fee, admin fee, courier fee and it takes 4-6 weeks?!)
My salary is pretty decent, I’ve been here 6 years, I’m clearly not going anywhere? What’s the issue with giving me some credit? The issue with the cheques is ridiculous too, the charges were huge and it took an inordinately long time to clear..sometimes more than 2 months – how is that for efficiency?
Thankfully things have gotten slightly better, due to me building up my own personal positive credit history..and the source I used to get cheques from now issues using Western Union (which simplifies things a lot).
There’s STILL a lot of things to improve though like general levels of customer service, counter service and pretty much all of the banks have horrible online banking solutions. Ever waited a few days for the TAC/PIN SMS to arrive? And sometimes never receive it all when you have to make an important payment – yah been there done that.
Another thing that bugs me is how the level of service can vary from the same bank brand between different branches, it’s like night and day sometimes. Some branches are just great and some…are just hideous.
I remember one time I applied for a credit card from a local bank as they were having some promotion and I thought it’d be good to have a credit card as a backup, just to be safe. Anyway I filled up the application, fulfilled all the criteria and submitted it to the bank.
Then I waited….and waited and guess what? Waited some more.
Actually I think I completely forgot about the credit card application until I saw another promotion from the same bank, which reminded me about my application.
So I promptly called up the bank and inquired about the status of my application, guess what? My application had been rejected and well they didn’t even bother to tell me. They just leave you hanging and expect you to work it out on your own?
How hard would it have been just to give me a quick courtesy call and let me know my application had been rejected? Not very right..
And well to this day I still don’t have a Malaysian credit card, their loss right?
If you have grouses with banks, you too can voice your dissatisfaction here:
http://www.canbankingbebetter.com/
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Tags: banking, banking can be better, banking efficiency, can banking be better, foreign cheques in malaysia, improve malaysia banks, improve malaysian banking, malaysia bank effeciency, malaysia cheque clearing, malaysian banking, malaysian banks, western union
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9 Comments so far
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Using
Yeah, we as consumers DEMAND better service. The nicer they are the more gullible we are to their scam I mean plans ^^
Using
hahaha so just sign up more and get them credit card free gifts!
Using
For the past few weeks, i have been going to banks to cancel all my credit cards except for one.. no point keeping them now that govt is charging 50rm for one.. pokai if i keep all.. :p
Using
i think our internet banking is a big letdown, the user interface is so 90′s with blinking animation and everything is pushed to the left.
the other thing I find weird is the ‘spam’ mail received by me. The minute I sign up for an internet banking with X bank, i’ll receive a spam mail asking me to change my password… this gotta be an inside job. Not a coincident.
Using
Not just you, we local people also facing same problems here. Malaysia really need to change especially the customer service level.
Using
1. Can (local) banking be better? Sure it CAN and SHOULD. Further example of ‘idiosyncratic’ (some say idiotic) treatment of foreigners: My wife is a foreigner. She has a chequing/current account with a big local bank but for a long while until recently she couldn’t put in cash nor withdraw cash via ATM. She had to queue and do that manually at the counter.
2. Another example: The concept and practice of giving loan based on project viability/profitibility not unusual in the States is not done in Malaysia. Loan is almost always extended backed by some form of collateral.
3. However on online/internet banking, in all fairness, with some banks it’s excellent, with others horrendous. It seems to depend on the system and personnel the particular bank employs.
Using
Glo-w: Customer service is generally not high on the Malaysian company radar.
KY: Hahaha I don’t get the chance.
claire: Yah bad economy, want to promote spending…but levy charge on credit cards – stupid right.
Ngan: Yah damn a lot of phishing going on and the online banking interfaces REALLY need a good HCI treatment.
Jess: Yah it sucks.
MBI: Totally agree. Will it happen? Not in the near future I don’t think.
Using
I have been maintaining savings and current accounts with Maybank and HSBC for the past 3 years and 1 year, respectively. I applied for a credit card with both banks and even signed an auto-debit from my account, but still no avail. I am also maintaining an HSBC credit card from my mother country, but it seems that it is of no value for them. Citibank’s requirement for foreigners applying for a credit card is that we should have at least RM10,000 GROSS salary. Had I been earning that much, I wouldn’t perhaps need a CC. A debit card would suffice. THIS IS STUPID!!
Using
Major: Yah it pisses me off, why can’t they just give me a credit card?!