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Revised Maybank GIA-i – The Fairy Tale is OVER

Maybank Dividend

Maybank GIA-i is No More

Maybank Dividend
Malayan Banking Berhad

It’s official, my favorite place to park my excess cash has been replaced with something alien. Maybank yesterday announced a change to their immensely popular Maybank GIA-i account. Coincidentally, I had a post up about this account just last month, lauding it’s high interest rates and liquidity. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. I just didn’t expect the end to come so swiftly and abruptly.

The ‘new’ GIA-i will take effect from 16 June 2017. Interest rates will be reduced then. On 1 August 2017, your liquidity will be taken away. The revised features and rates can be found below.

The Revised Features

Maybank GIA-i Revised Features
Maybank GIA-i Revised Features

These are the ‘revised’ features we are left with.  You basically forfeit your interests/profit if you uplift prematurely. It’s similar to CIMB’s Unfixed Deposit.

The Revised Rates

Maybank GIA-i Revised Rates
Maybank GIA-i Revised Rates

As you can see, you get your 3.45% only when you invest for 48 months. They even threw in a 3.55% for a 60-month long placement.

This is Shit

I’m calling it what it is. This is what Maybank is telling you, right now.

We’re giving you less interest.

We’re not letting you withdraw/uplift your placements without foregoing your interests.

On top of that, you’re still not getting PIDM protection for GIA-i.

So I ask you Maybank, what is the point of the GIA-i now? All other FDs are better in comparison out there. For example, putting my money in a 1 month FD with Maybank themselves will net me 2.95% today. I’d very much sacrifice that 0.5% return for some PIDM protection.

Alternatives

So, where does that leave us?

I’ll likely be placing my cash in Fixed Deposits. I’m planning to consolidate my holdings into a single bank and go for premier/priority banking in order to get better rates. Looking at Public Bank right now. Will keep you guys updated.

Another good alternative is Fundsupermart’s Cash Management Fund. Although I don’t like the 2-day waiting period for funds to reach your pocket. And they offer about 3.2 – 3.3% interest.

Do you guys have any other alternatives to Maybank GIA-i to share? Let me know.

End.

It really is an end to an era with Maybank’s decision to revise their very popular GIA-i. I believe it could be due to abuse by some customers who withdraw and make placements every day to the interests daily. Maybank may change their mind in time when they realize just how many of their customers are using their GIA-i. Then again, maybe not.

There will always be bumps and challenges along the way and this will certainly pose some interesting problems to my Freedom Fund. It’s time to rethink and re-strategize. I’ll be meeting with a Public Bank Manager next week to discuss their red carpet banking.

Any of you are red carpet clients with Public Bank or priority clients with other banks? Please do let me know about it as I’m new to this.

Thanks for reading.

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Where to park your money in Malaysia? CIMB Unfixed deposit

CIMB Unfixed Deposit

CIMB Unfixed Deposit
CIMB Unfixed Deposit

Seeing as how my last post on Maybank GIA-i was so useful for everyone, here is another avenue for Malaysians to park their hard-earned money for better returns. A few of our readers sent me info regarding CIMB Unfixed Deposit but I didn’t want to have an article up on it because it was ending soon and it’s a promotion and thus not recurring like Maybank’s GIA-i.

However, seeing as CIMB has renewed the promotion up to 30 June, I feel it is my duty to have this up asap.

I’ll be making some indirect comparisons between CIMB Unfixed Deposit and Maybank GIA-i so you’ll be able to make a more informed decision.

PIDM Protection

So first thing’s first, CIMB Unfixed Deposit is covered under PIDM. One of the main put-offs of Maybank’s GIA-i for many of you was that it wasn’t protected by PIDM. So if that was your main concern, you can now opt for CIMB’s promotion worry-free.

If you’re still unfamiliar with PIDM, basically it is an insurance on your deposit placed with banks covered by the government. For individuals, you’re covered up to RM250K. So if you deposit more than that amount, the remainder will be lost should the bank go bust.

The Terms

The current promotion gives you 3.9% per annum for a 6-month placement and 4.1% per annum for a 12-month placement.

There’s a minimum placement of RM10,000 required for both the 6 and 12-month unfixed deposit. Which is very reasonable in my opinion. However, you’ll be slightly inconvenienced because CIMB requires you to head to their branch to make a placement for their unfixed deposit.

Early withdrawal of CIMB Unfixed Deposit before the FD’s 3-month tenure will see any interests earned nullified. From the 4th month on, you will be entitled to 50% of the interest earned. That’s the gist of it. This right here is the deal breaker for me.

The rates given are applicable for one cycle only and interest earned will be credited to your CIMB Current / Savings account. So if you’re not a CIMB customer, you’d be required to open an account with them. Not a bad way for CIMB to bring in new customers.

The complete T&C sheet can be found hERE.

My Take

I personally won’t be taking up CIMB’s offer this time around. If this promotion was offered by Maybank, I’d hop on it immediately. The 4.1% p.a. is really attractive but I still prefer Maybank’s GIA-i. Here’s why: CIMB is actually telling you, yes you can withdraw/uplift your Un-FD early but if you do that, you’ll either get ZERO interest or half interest.

And what’s 50% of 4.1% per annum? 2.05 f*cking percent per annum. Pardon my french but I’d be better off placing that in Maybank’s GIA-i account or M2U savers and earn more. 

However! If you’re sure you won’t be using your money for a year, take up this promotion and place your money there. The 4.1% is pretty high and in the unlikely event where you need to make an early withdrawal, you can do so and still retain 50% of your interest (assuming you’ve passed the 3-month mark). This is a way better deal compared to conventional FDs.

Seriously, if you have a lot of FDs lying around, consider moving your money to CIMB Unfixed Deposit before the promo ends. The interest is high and you’ve got your behind covered in case you need to withdraw early.

I’d like to know how many of you have already made your placements for CIMB Unfixed Deposit. Are there better FDs out there with higher interest rates in comparison?