Emporium Blog

Got an envelope in the mail from Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia today. Very discreet looking, no bank logo, no tell tale signs it is from Standard Chartered. It contains a promotional looking pamphlet/brochure with a form to fill in.

Oh, okay, it’s a information leaflet about the new credit card guidelines. How thoughtful of them.

 

Then I found the missing piece to the puzzle. It is a “save-standard chartered’s ass-incase-bank negara-queries-policy” asking all their credit card holders to resubmit their proof of income.

I have been using Standard Chartered Bank credit card, not very often actually, since many many years ago. No late payment, no outstanding balances. In short, I am a non profitable card holder to them (since they don’t earn any interest from me). I was very slightly taken aback by their request for proof of income.

 

The banks in Malaysia have been very lenient in approving credit cards and extending easy loans that Bank Negara Malaysia has to come up with guidelines like this back in March 2011, said to be enforced in January 2012. The focus of the guidelines is to protect the lower income groups from the risk that they are currently exposed to from getting easy credit.

Tell you what I will do, Standard Chartered Bank of Malaysia. I am not gonna submit anything to you again, you approved my credit in the first place, remember? Now you are having second thoughts about it?

Go ahead, cancel my card, as if I care. If not, then I will store the Standard Chartered credit card in my “credit card graveyard”. (A small container in my drawer reserved for credit cards that I don’t use. For security reasons, the CVV numbers are blanked out and edges cut so nobody can use them).

Why do I still keep them and not cancel them credit cards since I don’t use them? Because I like, can? Personal vendetta, yeah.

In case some of you are wondering. I earn more than RM36K per year. I have more than two credit cards from different banks. Standard Chartered Bank accords me the lowest credit limit amongst all my credit cards despite holding their card the longest.

In fact, I felt so strongly to write about this because Standard Chartered Bank’s credit card is the very first credit card that I have.

People say they are kiasu bloodsuckers. I agree.