9th October 2026 - 2 min read
Banks have started offering basic credit cards with interest of no more than 14% a year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said when he tabled Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October. He thanked Alliance Bank, Maybank, and CIMB for already offering them.
Most credit cards in Malaysia charge between 15% and 18% a year on any amount you don’t pay off. The rate you get usually depends on how well you’ve paid your card bills in the past year.
All three basic cards charge one flat rate of 14% a year, so your rate doesn’t go up if you miss a payment. None of them charges an annual fee. You’ll still pay the RM25 yearly government service tax that applies to every credit card.
| Card | Rate (p.a.) | Annual Fee |
| Alliance Bank Visa Basic Card | 14% interest | None |
| Maybank Islamic Nadi Mastercard Credit Card-i | 14% profit rate | None |
| CIMB Lite-i | 14% profit rate | None |
The Alliance Bank Visa Basic Card moved to 14% on 1 October 2026 and needs a monthly income of at least RM2,000. Applications for the Maybank Islamic Nadi card opened this month through the MAE app, Maybank2u, and Maybank branches. The Maybank Islamic card is open to everyone, whatever their religion.
A lower rate makes the biggest difference when you carry a balance from month to month. If you owe RM3,000 on your card for a whole year, 18% costs you about RM540 in interest. At 14%, it’s about RM420, which is RM120 less (our calculation).
The RM120 is a simple estimate. Real card interest is charged daily on what you owe, so your amount will change as you pay the balance down or spend more.
The 14% rate only applies to money you don’t pay back on time. If you pay your full bill before the due date, you pay no interest at all, on any card. For the Alliance Bank card, that means paying within 20 days of your statement date.
If you can only pay part of your bill, the minimum payment on the Alliance Bank card is 5% of what you owe or RM50, whichever is higher. Paying just the minimum keeps your record clean, but interest still builds on the rest. A basic card helps most if you sometimes need a few months to clear a big bill, such as school fees or a car repair.
As a creative content writer, Eloise has covered finance, business, lifestyle topics, and even moonlights as a singer-songwriter outside of RinggitPlus. Her current interests are learning the best ways to optimise spending and credit card hacks to gain more airline miles.
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