Next year, you can make instant interbank transfers for free

In an effort to speed up the process of going cashless, Bank Negara Malaysia has made some changes to the service fees for Instant Transfer transactions for individuals and small-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim said that starting the 1st of July 2018, the Instant Transfer fee of 50 sen (53 sen including GST) will be waived for up to RM5,000 per transaction by individuals and SMEs. This is great news for interbank transfers because not only will you be able to make the transaction instantly, you also don’t have to pay a fee.

However, there was no mention for regular Interbank Giro (IBG) transactions which we suspect means the 11 sen (including GST) fee still stands. So, if you plan to transfer more than RM5,000 and don’t mind waiting, IBG will still save you a few sen.

On the flip side, the cheque fee will be increased from 50 sen to RM1 beginning 2nd January 2021 because of the higher processing cost.

In 2011, Bank Negara embarked on a 10-year e-payment road map which has made some pretty significant changes to the way people make transactions. Cheque volume, for example, has decreased by 42% from 205 million in 2011 to just 120 million this year.

On the other hand, online electronic fund transfers have increased exponentially from 66 million in 2011 to a whopping 329 million transactions in 2017.

[SOURCE]