Giving a family member a supplementary credit card sounds generous in theory. Say, your mum gets to shop online without needing your help every time, and you both earn rewards faster with only one bill to track. But before you fill out that application form, you need to understand exactly what you’re signing up for, because unlike joint accounts, supplementary cards put all the legal and financial responsibility squarely on your shoulders.

You Are Legally Responsible For Every Ringgit

The debt belongs to you is the part most principal cardholders don’t fully grasp until something goes wrong. When you issue a supplementary card, you are agreeing to pay for everything charged to that card, regardless of who made the purchase or whether you approved it.

Malaysian banks make this abundantly clear in their terms and conditions. For example,  Hong Leong Bank’s cardholder agreement states that “the Principal Cardholder shall be liable for all outstanding balances incurred on the Principal and/or Supplementary Card(s).” And CIMB’s terms are similar: “In addition to being liable for the amounts incurred under the Cardholder’s own Card, a principal Cardholder is also liable to the Bank for the amounts incurred under all Supplementary Cards issued.”

If your supplementary cardholder racks up RM10,000 in purchases and refuses to pay their share, the bank will come after you, not them. The supplementary cardholder has no direct legal obligation to the bank. Their only obligation is to you personally, and that’s a private matter between family members that no bank will help you sort out.

Supplementary Card Spending And Your Credit Score

Your credit score is tied to your principal card account. Any spending on supplementary cards shows up on your monthly statement and affects your credit utilisation ratio. If payments are missed, that damages your CCRIS record. For more on how CCRIS works, see our guide to understanding your credit score.

Supplementary cardholders themselves don’t typically have the card account reported to their own CCRIS. They get spending convenience, but won’t be building their own credit history through it. Any damage from overspending falls entirely on the principal cardholder’s record.

Setting Spending Limits To Prevent Overspending

Most Malaysian banks allow you to set a monthly spending limit on supplementary cards, and you absolutely should use this feature. This limit is separate from your overall credit limit; it caps how much the supplementary cardholder can spend each month.

UOB, for example, lets you set a monthly spend limit that refreshes on your statement date. To set or change limits, you’ll typically need to call your bank’s customer service hotline. Some banks also let you adjust limits through their mobile app or online banking.

Set the limit lower than you think necessary and adjust upward if needed. It’s easier to increase a limit than to recover from unexpected debt. Also remember that the supplementary card’s spending limit cannot exceed your principal card’s credit limit.

When Your Supplementary Cardholder Won’t Pay Up

If your supplementary cardholder refuses to pay their portion of the bill, you have limited options, and none of them involve the bank helping you collect from them.

The bank’s position is straightforward: you signed the agreement, you pay the bill. If RM5,000 appears on your statement from your supplementary card and you only pay RM2,000, expecting the cardholder to handle their share, the bank will charge you late payment fees and interest on the remaining RM3,000. Those late payments will appear on your CCRIS record.

Before issuing a supplementary card, have a frank conversation about expectations. If disputes arise, your best option is to cancel the supplementary card immediately and work out any outstanding amounts directly with the family member.

Cancelling A Supplementary Card Without Affecting Your Principal Card

You can cancel a supplementary card at any time without closing your principal card account. The process is similar to cancelling a regular credit card, but simpler since your main account stays open.

To cancel: clear any outstanding balance, cancel recurring payments linked to that card, call your bank’s customer service with your IC and card details ready, and get a reference number confirming the cancellation.

After cancellation, you’ll remain liable for any charges made before the cancellation date that haven’t yet been posted. Your principal card remains active and unaffected.

When Supplementary Cards Make Sense (And When They Don’t)

Before issuing a supplementary card, weigh the benefits against the risks for your specific situation.

Consider Issuing If…	Think Twice If…
The cardholder is a non-working spouse or retired parent who needs convenient access to funds	The cardholder has a history of overspending or poor financial habits
You want to combine household spending to hit cashback tiers or accumulate air miles faster	You’re not comfortable being fully liable for someone else’s purchases
Someone needs emergency access while travelling or studying abroad	The cardholder could qualify for their own free-for-life card and build their own credit history

A note on fees: Supplementary card annual fees vary widely. Maybank’s Classic cards charge RM30 per supplementary card, while CIMB charges RM25 service tax on each supplementary card upon activation and renewal. Some cards like the Maybank 2 Gold offer lifetime fee waivers for both principal and supplementary cards. If you’re paying RM50-80 annually for a supplementary card that only gets used occasionally, the fees may outweigh any rewards earned.

The question is whether you’d be comfortable paying any amount the supplementary cardholder charges, even if they refuse to reimburse you. If a surprise RM8,000 bill would cause genuine financial hardship, the risk may not be worth the convenience.

Before You Sign That Form

Supplementary credit cards can be genuinely helpful for families managing shared finances. But they come with real financial and legal risk that falls entirely on the principal cardholder. Before you add someone to your account, make sure you understand that every ringgit they spend is your responsibility, and that if things go wrong, the bank won’t help you recover costs from them.

Set appropriate spending limits, have honest conversations about expectations, and be prepared to cancel the card quickly if the arrangement isn’t working.

If you’re weighing your options, compare cards with free supplementary options using ourcredit card comparison tool. 

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