New Cheque Processing Fee

Back in Year 2012, I used to have a current account with a cheque book to pay for bills. Then IBG fee was reduced to 10 cent starting from May 2013 to encourage people to use electronic banking. Since then I settle most of my bills via Internet Banking. From 1st April 2014, there will be additional processing fee of RM 0.50 imposed on the issuer of cheque. This is another move to promote online banking.

SCB Online Banking Free IBG

Effective from 2nd May 2013, most of the local banks will revise the Interbank GIRO online transaction fee to only RM 0.10 as per BNM announcement earlier this year.

However, all Standard Chartered Bank CASA holders will be able to enjoy FREE Interbank GIRO Fund Transfers via Standard Chartered Online Banking which was exclusively for JustOne Account previously.

I've been using JustOne Account for almost 6 months now. Overall, I'm happy with the account except the DDA that takes too long time to be done. I've compiled a simple table to show you the benefits of JustOne Account (3 types):

	Personal	Preferred	Priority
Min monthly deposit (single transaction)	RM 1500	RM 5000	RM 10000
Unlimited FREE ATM withdrawals	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free Debit Card	Yes	Yes	Yes
Base interest (SA)	0.25% p.a.	0. 50% p.a.	1. 00% p.a.
Additional interest	1% p.a.	1% p.a.	1% p.a.
Privileges	Be rewarded for your total banking relationship with 360° Rewards Program	Preferred Bankers on demand	Dedicated Relationship Managers & Service Channels
		Enjoy 24-hour Preferred Banking Service Line	Free withdrawals at Visa/Plus or MasterCard/Cirrus network ATMs worldwide
			Free outward telegraphic transfer within Standard Chartered Bank’s network

Please bear in mind that you need to fulfill the monthly minimum deposit in single transaction in order to enjoy the free ATM withdrawals. Your account will be deducted for ATM withdrawal fee upfront and the total ATM withdrawal fees will be credited back to your account in the following month if you fulfill the requirement. I'll recommend you to sign up for JustOne Account to take full advantage of the Free IBG and ATM withdrawals. 

Interbank GIRO Fee Reduced to 10 sen

Interbank GIRO (IBG) is a service of transferring funds and payment to other banks without raising physical supporting documents such as cheques or bank drafts. This service reduces the crediting time between accounts especially out-of-town transactions. This service is provided by MyClear, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia).

OCBC Smart Saver

If you're not a parent, but you're looking for savings account that offers high interest rate that is similar to Child's Savings Account, then I would definitely recommend OCBC Smart Saver to you.

OCBC Smart Saver is a high-yield savings account that fosters disciplined savings. The interest rates are determined by these two factors:

• Total cumulative amount you deposit into the account every calendar month
• Any withdrawals from the acount every calendar month

Total amount deposited in account every calendar month	Interest rates (yearly)
	No withdrawals during calendar month	At least 1 withdrawal made during calendar month
RM 0 – RM 49.99	2.50% 2.40%	0.50%
RM 50 – RM 999.99	2.85% 2.75%	0.50%
RM 1000 and above	3.00% 2.90%	0.50%

Updated 9th June 2013


This account is a very good tool to force and discipline yourself to save money. If you bank in monthly RM 1000 monthly, you will be get 3.00% p.a. interest. However, if you make any withdrawal from the account, the interest rate will drop to 0.50% p.a.

Many people will say that this account is good but OCBC branch is too far from my house or in another town. Well, to solve this problem, just like how we settle OCBC Titanium card payment, we can use IBG. Again, I would strongly recommend SCB JustOne CASA, go to sign up the account and direct debit RM 1500 every month into JustOne, then you are able to do everything online.

AmBank Amstar Extreme

SCB JustOne is the best CASA account available in the current market. The only problem is the number of branches for Standard Chartered is limited. Therefore today I would like to introduce another Current Account which also offers Free IBG transfers.

AmStar Extreme by AmBank is a Current Account that:

• offers high interest rate up to 1.50% p.a.
• 5 free withdrawals from other banks' MEPS ATM monthly
• 5 free IBG transfers monthly
• free personal accident insurance up to RM 100000

Requirements & Eligibility

• Age 18 years old & above
• Minimum opening amount: RM500
• No introducer required
• RM 5 monthly service charge will be imposed if monthly average balance is less than RM 3000
• For balance less than RM 5000, no interest rate is applicable

There is an ongoing promotion for opening AmStar Extreme from 1st November to 31st December 2012. Upon opening new account, free RM 20 voucher would be given out. Besides, there will be no monthly fee charged for 6 months. 

If SCB branch is not in your town, you should consider this account as AmBank has a wide network of branches and ATM machines (in 7 Eleven). Some branches even offer the weekend banking service that is convenient to salaried employees. If you are interested, visit your nearest AmBank branch to know more about this product and campaign.

JustOne Current Account & JustOne Savings Account

This is a post in response to my earlier post about Current Account. Standard Chartered Bank has recently come up with a new type of 2-in-1 account known as JustOne Current Account and JustOne Savings Account. What is so special about this account?

JustOne Current Account:

• *Unlimited Free Withdrawals from MEPS and HOUSe ATMs.
• *Free Interbank GIRO Fund Transfers via Standard Chartered Online Banking and ATMs in Malaysia.
• Free Debit Card.
• Optional Cheque Book.

JustOne Savings Account:

• Enjoy high base interest of 1% p.a. for any balance amount.
• *Get additional bonus interest of 1% p.a. on any balance amount in this savings account.
• Access only via secured Online Banking and over the counter

To be entitled for the benefits marked in asterisks (*), account holder needs to deposit a minimum of RM 1500 in a single transaction into JustOne Current Account every month. The Free IBG is really attractive to me as I have a few cards from different banks like OCBC Titanium Card, UOB One Card and Maybankard 2. I'm using Maybank2u for the transfer, each IBG I will be charged RM 2. So I need to pay RM 4 each month just to settle my credit cards.

Free IBGs, unlimited free ATM withdrawals, free Debit Card, all these really sound too good to be true. So I went to the nearest SCB branch to enquire about this account. I got a confirmation from the customer service that we do not need to pay RM 8 for the annual fees of Debit Card and all the stated benefits. 

So I straight away signed up for the account and I was given a MEPS DDA (Direct Debit Authorization) Form to directly bank in RM 1500 from other bank to JustOne Current Account monthly. There is no charge incurred for that. I spent around 30 mins for the whole process and the Debit Card was given to me on the spot. 

This account is really very convenient, can save you a lot of time and money if you have credit cards, mortgage, hire purchase or loans from different banks. I strongly recommend JustOne Current Account as you do not have to rush to banks to settle payments anymore or being over charged for online IBG transaction and yet you can enjoy 2% interest p.a. for your money in JustOne Savings Account.