New Digi users can soon get the Samsung Galaxy S20 with RM0 upfront

After we’ve posted about the Samsung Galaxy S20 pre-order offer from Digi, the yellow telco has reached out to us to clarify on the hefty advance payment requirement. In our original post, we highlighted that Digi’s PhoneFreedom 365 instalment plan is demanding an upfront payment of over RM3,000 for new customers despite promising RM0 upfront as one of its key highlights.

According to Digi, they are the only telco in Malaysia that offers the Galaxy S20 and S20+ on an instalment bundle plan for new customers. This true as the other telcos such as Maxis and Celcom are only offering their respective instalment programs for existing customers only. Digi also clarifies that the RM0 upfront payment offer is only applicable for existing Digi customers that have a good payment record. For new signups, advance payment is required which is understandable since the telco is taking the financial risk.

However, we still think that asking for over RM3,000 upfront is too much and it defeats the purpose of an instalment plan. That’s around 90% of the full retail price for the device and you still get tied to a 24-month contract. It’s like getting a loan for a RM50,000 Myvi but you are required to pay the bank RM45,000 upfront.

Advance Payment waiver at Digi Stores

Digi has assured that those that want to switch to its network, are able to get the Galaxy S20 with zero advance payment through their Digi Stores. However, this advance payment waiver will only be available after the pre-order period and it is also subject to credit checks. This means if you’re eligible, you can get the S20 or S20+ from Digi without forking out too much money. At the moment, Digi is only accepting pre-orders online and they can’t perform credit checks on individuals through their web interface.

Lowest monthly commitment

Among all the telcos, it is worth mentioning that Digi has the lowest all-in monthly commitment of RM216 (RM126/month for device + RM90/month for the postpaid plan) with its Digi Postpaid 80 + Gboost option for the Galaxy S20. The Digi plan also comes with unlimited calls and 60GB of data, which is pretty generous.

As a comparison, the lowest Maxis instalment option costs RM243/month (RM145/month for device + RM98/month for the plan) on Zerolution (MaxisONE 98) which comes with 20GB of all-day data and 10GB of weekend data. Meanwhile, on Celcom, the cheapest option is RM249/month (RM151/month for device + RM98/month for the plan) on EasyPhone Own (Mega + Lightning M) which is bundled with 40GB of data.

Digi acknowledges there’s room for improvement when it comes to communicating their plans. For the advance payment, we think it would be better if Digi offers a 0% interest easy payment plan via credit card which lowers the barrier of entry for new customers. Alternatively, they could just offer a standard contract bundle option like they used to. In 2018, Digi offered the Galaxy S9 for RM2,359 on Postpaid 80 with GBoost and the advance payment was only RM450.

So for now, the Digi PhoneFreedom 365 is better suited for existing and loyal Digi customers. If you’re new, it is best to wait until the device is released officially on the 6th of March 2020 so that you can enjoy the advance payment waiver.

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