Best Easy Payment Plans in Malaysia 2024

Ever caught yourself considering buying something you have been eyeing but are conflicting with your own conscience about whether you want or need it?

Don’t dwell on your indecision for too long, there is an alternative you can explore to make that big-ticket item purchase affordable. 

Read on as we will guide you to discover how you can turn that wish list into reality via a credit card easy payment plan.

What is an easy payment plan?

An easy payment plan (EPP) or also known as a flexi payment plan (FPP) is a credit card instalment plan that allows you to convert your purchase(s) into smaller instalment payments for a fixed period of time.

Normally, when you swipe your credit card on a retail transaction, you have a 20-day interest-free period after the statement is issued to settle the payment in full amount. 

After reaching the statement due date you still haven’t made a full payment yet, the bank can slap you with a finance charge of between 15%-18% p.a. on the outstanding balance.

This interest will compound every month until you have cleared up the outstanding balance, which could take months or years. Worst comes to the worst, your credit score will not be impressive too.

Nowadays, most credit cards are equipped with a 0% easy payment plan to make purchases more convenient and affordable for you, regardless of your income group. 

Are you not familiar with a credit card instalment plan? Continue reading.

How does a credit card instalment plan work?

Essentially, a credit card can have 2-3 instalment plans for different purposes. They are:

What are the things to look out for in an easy payment plan?

When enrolling your retail purchase into an EPP, you need to watch out for these features as they may not be universal for all credit cards:

0% interest rate

To maximise savings, you want to be repaying the same amount you have swiped without an extra fee or charge being added to it. When looking for an EPP that is offering 0% interest, pay attention to the fine print too; are there any fees that you need to pay upfront?

Flexible tenures

If repaying a huge amount of credit within a 20-day grace period is unmanageable for you, an EPP gives you the flexibility to stretch the repayment up to 36 months. If you’re lucky, you may get 0% interest on a longer tenure, which gives you a lower monthly commitment.

Participating merchants

A bank will usually have a list of participating merchants that are offering 0% instalment plans. If your favourite store is not participating in the 0% EPP program of your credit card, you can still convert the purchase into a flexi pay plan at an interest rate.

Minimum repayment clause

This clause is to encourage cardholders to make a minimum repayment on their outstanding balances to avoid getting penalised for missing or late payments. Oftentimes, most banks require full payment of EPP and other credit facilities, on top of the minimum monthly payment of RM50 or 5% of the outstanding balances.

Principal cardholder only?

While all instalment payment plans are offered to the principal cardholders, some banks allow purchases made by supplementary cardholders to be combined with the primary ones to convert into an easy payment plan.

Is it better to pay with a 0% instalment plan?

Wait, are you still calculating whether to pay in cash or 0% EPP on that wish list item? Now, let’s take a look at an example below:

Salina is a beauty influencer who creates social media content on a weekly basis. With the new iPhone is launching, she wants to upgrade her current smartphone for a better quality video. 

This purchase will cost her RM6,000. Which is the best choice of payment for her?

To commit a lower monthly commitment, Salina can choose to repay RM6,000 for up to 36 months at a 0% interest rate. 

Had Salina made the purchase with cash or a credit card, it could take her up to 36 months (or more than that) to recover her used-up savings.

How to sign up for a 0% flexi payment plan?

We hear that you are ready to go with a 0% easy payment plan on your upcoming purchase, so we have outlined the A to Z of applying a 0% flexi payment plan for you:

1. Own a credit card. If you don’t have any yet, apply for one at RinggitPlus now
2. Check if the store is a participating merchant of your credit card 0% EPP
3. Inform the store’s cashier that you would like to use EPP and choose your preferred tenure upon payment
4. Swipe your credit card
5. Check your statement for the amount of your monthly instalment and start repaying

Another way you can sign up for an 0% EPP is to do it via SMS or by submitting the application form directly to the bank. 

Some banks give you several days after the purchase transaction date to decide if you want to convert them into a flexi instalment plan. The rule of thumb is, don’t throw away the proof of purchase yet.

Any other things to keep in mind when using a 0% instalment plan?

The amount of your EPP will be drawn from the card’s available credit limit. For example, if you have a credit limit of RM10,000 and want to convert RM6,000 into a 0% instalment plan, you will have a credit balance of RM4,000. 

This amount will be your new credit limit on other transactions. Sometimes, when you get too caught up in your spending spree, you may not realise that you are going over the reduced credit limit, which can incur a costly fee.

You may not also want to miss even one monthly payment of your 0% EPP instalment because it can be detrimental to your budget. Banks will strip off that 0% interest when a payment is missed and charge an 18% p.a. until the completion of your EPP tenure.

And last but not least, your credit score will be affected when a missing payment is captured in the system.

Best credit cards for 0% easy payment plan

Earlier, we mentioned that a credit card issuer can have selected merchants that you can qualify for a 0% instalment plan. Do you know that you can also check if your credit card is participating in the merchants’ 0% easy payment plans? Here are some of them:

Best 0% EPP program: The honourable mention goes to… 

UOB credit cards have some of the best 0% easy payment plans for specific categories such as: 

Education, medical and luxury items

For a limited time only, when you spend a minimum of RM10,000 in a single transaction with UOB Visa Infinite on these categories, you can convert it to a 0% Easi-Payment Plan for 12 months, subject to terms and conditions.

LuxePay by Lady’s Card

For the Lady’s cardholders (Gold, Platinum and Solitaire), you have the privilege to convert your luxury and overseas purchases into a 0% EPP via UOB LuxePay Easi-Payment Plan.

All in all, a 0% EPP is a practical choice for you to make that big-ticket item purchase such as gadget, furniture, accessories etc as you can commit to a lower monthly instalment for as long as you are convenient.

Not sure which 0% easy payment plan is right for you? Compare and apply for a credit card now.