You can pay any bills which are not owned by you using autopay facilities. I have been paying TNB bills via autopay for 3 houses under different names.

The amount paid will be as per bill.

Just go to any Kedai Tenaga and fill in the form. You only need to state clearly the TNB account number, your cc number, your name as per IC, name of the bank that issued your cc, card expiry date and your signature.

This post has been edited by winner: Sep 18 2010, 12:17 PM

I received my OCBC Titanium MC on 7/9 and started using the card on 8/9. However, until today I have yet to receive the security pin number.

On a separate note, my SCB e-statement shows that RM50 service tax was charged on my new Preferred Banking World MC on 8/9. But I have yet to receive the physical card.

Once they have approved the card, they immediately charged me RM50 service. They should not charge me the service tax so fast since they have not even issued the card yet.

Also, for my JustOne cc, they charged me the service tax one month before my card anniversary date. While my Amex charged me the service tax 2 weeks after its anniversary date.

We have been mentioning this many times here, DO NOT trust 100% what sales agents tell you unless it is an official statement from the bank.

If you do not accept the new card and the bank is not willing to cancel the RM50 service tax, you cannot do anything as NOBODY FORCED YOU to sign up. You had signed the application form, thus accepting the T&Cs. You have to pay for your ignorance. No offense here.

Just a friendly reminder. As far as I know, of all the CCs you mentioned above, only SCB would give customers incentives to offset the service tax for FIRST YEAR. That means, you need to pay a price for your shopping spree on cc application.

Yes, it will really take long time to arrive. I received the card on 7/9 and started swiping the card on 8/9. And now, I have not received the security pin number yet.


Existing cards are unlikely to be affected. Otherwise, our government will need to REFUND the service tax that we have already paid for third card and above.

Don't be surprised that OCBC is very picky in choosing good customers now due to the overwhelming response to the relaunched Titanium card.

The bank has already sensed that our government will tighten cc application requirements. Therefore, it is not surprised that OCBC is very selective on this popular product and a lower CL is expected too.

It is much much higher than this figure. The CL they gave me is higher than my previous Alliance Platinum, but lower than my existing SCB Titanium. It is the third highest CL I get so far.

Try writing to BNM and complain. Your chance is slim but no harm to try it out.

I just received the security pin number today, after receiving the card on 7/9. It was really as slow as a snail!


And, you would get a free AAM membership too.

Tuesday September 21, 2010

Lower credit-card limit will not impact profitability of banks

BY DALJIT DHESI
daljit@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: The plan to limit credit for credit-card usage among the lower income group will affect only the interest income portion of banks in the short term but will not impact joining and merchant fees or the overall profitability of banks, analysts said.

Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) vice-president and head of financial institution ratings, Anandakumar Jegarasasingam, said the lowering of the credit limit was not likely to have a major impact on banks’ profitability.

“Banks derive income from credit cards in three forms: joining and annual fees, merchant fees when credit cards are used for payments, and interest income when credit is utilised beyond the interest-free period,” he said.

“The lower limit is not likely to impact the first two sources of income. This is because joining and annual fees are independent of the credit limit assigned to a cardholder.


“Although a lower credit limit will impact merchant fees that are levied on transactions as a result of the lower value of transactions, this is not expected to be a major concern.

“In the short term, to a certain extent, the lower credit limit can affect interest income earned from credit-card advances as the outstanding credit-card advances may be reduced to be in line with the new lower credit-card limit,’’ Anandakumar told StarBiz.

Besides having multiple sources of income from cards, analysts generally agreed that individual banks have their own credit risk management tool that allows them to check the financial credibility of customers and hence it won’t impact their bottom lines in a big way.

“Individual banks know the “comfort level of their customers”, among others through bank deposits, to ensure that they are able to pay back their credit-card loans,” he said.

Talk is rife that banks are looking at limiting the credit limit for those earning RM12,000 to RM36,000 a year at two times their monthly salary.

Major credit-card players like Citibank Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Bank Bhd as well as other players declined to comment.

The Association of Banks in Malaysia, in an email reply, said: “Banks are continually reviewing their products and services in tandem with changes in the marketplace to ensure prudent management of credit risk.

“Admittedly, there have been suggestions from some quarters that for the purpose of instilling better financial management on consumers, tying credit limits to incomes is a possible approach.

“Be that as it may, any changes to be made to the card businesses would be carefully evaluated and due consideration of all issues will be made before implementation, particularly, in relation to any potential adverse impact of pulling credit.”

RHB Banking group director of retail banking Renzo Viegas said: “No such decision (to impose credit-card limits) has been made.”

The mean monthly income of Malaysian households ranges from RM3,000 to RM4,000.

“The bank’s customer segment with credit limit up to RM10,000 is our largest segment, at about 60% of our card base. However, the Kuala Lumpur/Selangor region’s card base, with its higher income range, has a slightly larger mix of higher credit limit segments.”

Meanwhile, Consumer Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris said that the move to cap the maximum credit available at twice the monthly income of the cardholder may give rise to the problem of multiple applications.

He suggested restrictions on the total credit available, regardless of the number of cards held.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...73&sec=business

Talking about SCB Preferred Banking World MC, this SCB really pissed me of. As shown in the e-statement, RM50 service tax was charged on 8/9. I received the security pin number on 21/9. However, until today I have not received the physical card yet. I called SCB several times and was given the reply that they are still in the midst of issuing the card.

As I will make a big swipe within these few days, I will not accept this card if I only receive it after using other CCs to make the payment.

Did EON cancel the RM50 service tax too?

Until now I HAVE NOT RECEIVED the card yet. I have told the RM I will not pay the service tax which was charged on 8/9 if I do not receive the card by this Friday.

I was actually planning to redeem the Samsonite X Blade for only 54,000 choice points (normal redemption needs 174,000 points) when I applied for the card. It is really unethical if SCB increased the requirement to 80,000 points. The marketing brochure and website clearly state 54,000 choice points.

http://www.standardchartered.com.my/prefer...ore-rewards/en/


Even though I have not received the card yet, I was informed that the CL is combined with my existing SCB JustOne Titanium MC, and the CL is not increased. I am OK with this as I do not need a super high CL.


It looks like CIMB is throwing its CCs again prior to the announcement from the government on restrictions on CCs. Just like last year end before charging the government service tax, CIMB flooded the market with Gold cc upgrading to Platinum as well as CL increase.


I have done on TNB, TM, Astro and DiGi at the respective merchant outlets, not through OCBC.


Alliance Bank Platinum cc. Other banks' Platinum CCs would normally allow the cardholders to either KLIA or LCCT.

It shouldn't be a problem as I did it at TM Point.

Alliance Bank had changed the rules last month. Platinum credit card for KLIA lounge, while Platinum and Premium debit card for LCCT lounge.

DA MC is not comparable to OCBC Titanium MC and Amex Gold CC. OCBC Titanium MC is better than Amex Gold cc based on the following reasons:

1. Amex is still not widely accepted, be it in Malaysia or overseas.
2. Petrol, grocery, utility and phone bill rebate: OCBC Titanium MC 5%; Amex Gold cc 2.5% (5 MR points)
3. Dining bill rebate: OCBC Titanium 5%; Amex Gold cc 1% (2 MR points)

However, Amex Gold cc gives 2.5% cash back (5 MR points) for purchases at selected bookstores and Cathay ciniplex whereas OCBC Titanium MC gives 1% cash back for these transactions. Also, OCBC Titanium MC comes with cash back limit per month. You may check OCBC website for details. Nevertheless, OCBC Titanium MC still wins after all.

I am holding both Amex Gold cc and OCBC Titanium MC. I will definitely cancel the former next year.