simon2017

Hi Wiredtight, the reason I raised the rate being the accumulated rate was when I enquired about possible terms, interest rates etc for my MM2H FD with HSBC the rate they were quoting me on monthly interest payments was the total return that I would get rather than the actual interest rate I was getting each month. (ie adding up all interest received during the term divided by amount deposited was the rate they quoted rather than the lesser monthly rate I was getting).

Hope I'm wrong in your case but worth checking.

By the way I went into the CIMD branch across the road from the HSBC branch you went into today to enquire about FD rates (not for MM2H purposes) and was quoted 3.1% for 1 year and it would be less for longer terms, so if you cannot get better than that at HSBC you have the walk across the road option .... and you may be able to get something higher for MM2H amounts.

stepen

That is strange, as the official CIMB rates for 1 year is 3.7%, increasing for longer terms. I believe you can even start a new online with these terms.

https://www.cimbclicks.com.my/clicks...iewfdrates.htm

simon2017

Good idea I'll open a separate thread on what rates people are getting on deposits (both for MM2H and for other funds)

Gunnar45

With (maybe) the exception of MM2H FD's, the Amanah (Islamic FD) option may be worth exploring as well.
The return is called profit rate there but apart from that there is no difference.
Sometimes the profit rates are higher than the interest rates, like when I placed an Islamic FD with CIMB earlier this year at a monthly paid out profit rate of 4.15% p.a.

Another option to look into is MBSB, the Malasian building society.
But I don't know if they are accepted for MM2H FD' and the deposits made with them are not Gov't guaranteed.

ssoomro

LMAO DaVita...I had no idea you are a dude... but you didnt have to tell me either ..

nowoolymitts

Well all went well have visa and bank account set up went very smoothly. One tiny bit of advise....I got a local sim as soon as I arrived in KL and used this number in all the info you need to set up a bank account. I will not be returning to KL until Dec/Jan So as this was a Pay as you go sim the number would lapse...so I extended its life by paying a small amount to last for 6 months. Yvonne seemed to indicated that all hell would break loose if you had to change number with the bank. This may not be true but not prepared to mess up at this final stage! Anyway good news got VISA!!!!!

simon2017

Hi Nowoolymits,
with HSBC (and presumeably with other banks) every transaction that occurs on your credit or debit card you get a no charge SMS asking you to contact HSBC if you did not authorise that particular transaction. Quite nifty in fraud in fraud protection, and the SMS occurs no matter how small the amount, but might explain why the banks are so sensitive about not having a valid mobile number.

Macsta

Congratulations NWM on your visa.

I am also with HSBC but cannot remember giving a local number for my application although I had one bought at the airport for my visa visit. I am not yet living in MY so I am not using my accounts for transactions so its immaterial but for sure when I do settle I will get a permanent local number so I will want it adding (or amending).

"All hell will break loose at the bank" - I am sure its my money and they are just the custodians at my behest so I hope they try that one on me.

I am bound to them with the FD but any other money I have with them I can transfer as I like, watch any attitude change then.

I hope you have a great life in MY

nowoolymitts

Goodness me....Macsta I only meant it may be an inconvenience to you further down the line. Helpful I thought.

Macsta

Sorry NWM didnt mean to scare you my ire was aimed at the potential lack of service by banking institutions (well documented on this forum).

Being fair HSBC on my visit were most helpful even when I turned up with a bundle of cash that they couldn't accept they guided me to the best solution at hand.

Any advice is always most gratefully received.

stepen

We've discussed transferwise earlier in this tread, and I just transferred some funds from USD to MYR monday at rate 4.2655 (- minues their fees and wire costs). Then I checked visa's exchange rate and found it to be 4.2704200812 if your card doesn't have any foreign currency fees (which mine doesn't) or other fees.
So instead of using transferwise it is even cheaper to just use ATM (provided you have a card with no fees).

So I'm wondering if I need to move some funds over, I can over a period of a a couple of weeks withdraw up to US$1000 every day and deposit into HSBC in Malaysia. Are cash deposits looked at with suspicion in Malaysia? Or will it be ok to deposit say 10K or more ringgit at a branch?

simon2017

Hi Stepen,
any amount above RM3000 is reported. But in the same way if you transferred RM100,000 using Transferwise (it would be reported) you would be able to show the source of the funds so while it would pose a red flag as you can explain the source of the funds you would be ok.

simon2017

Hi Gunnar45,

my investigations of rates and returns has found a difference between the better Islamic rate (profit) and the normal FD rate. The difference is that a normal FD is covered by the government guarantee on bank deposits, while the Islamic FD is not covered as it is considered an investment product (profit). Not necessarily a big deal as long as one understands that the additional return from profit does include additional risk (might be small risk)

eCdD

Sure, this can happen every day. Especially when the MYR is gaining or losing heavily from one day to the next, the CC cards companies sometimes follow not so fast. These are the days when I run with my Master Card to the next ATM

By the way, in 90 to 95 % of the days (in earlier times 100 %) the Master Card exchange rate is better than Visa. Nowadays the gap is most of the time quite small, two years before it was huuuuuuuuuuuuge. That is also the reason why they throw a no fees visa card to you on every corner and one from Master Card is quite hard to get.

I had a EUR to MYR transfer on Tuesday (9000 €), Mastercard was 5,084471,
Visa was 5,079196 MYR and Transferwise gave me 5,080536 including their usual 0,7% fee.

So not too much difference, all good options, all way better than having the banks involved.

simon2017

For those transferring funds using Transferwise where the currency is not USD or GBP the rate they quote on the day is not guaranteed. (check the exchange rate line). As an example, if I wanted to transfer AUD 5000 to RM then Transferwise will look for someone wanting to transfer RM to AUD. If they cannot find sufficient coverage within their own systems then they will use bank exchange rates instead. So for most currencies Transferwise is unsure whether there will be sufficient coverage hence no guarantee. This recently happened to me where the cash rate for AUD in Penang on the day was RM3.39 to 1 AUD, and I ended up only getting RM3.36 4 days later when the transfer was completed. So sometimes the instant transfer with a guaranteed rate is better than the rate you may be in a few days time.