May-Blank - The Malayan Blank Bank

I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I could not help writing about my experience with Maybank, which I will refer to as May-Blank from now on. You’ll see why.

I logged into my Maybank2u account to pay an overdue bill, and I saw this on the login page.

It was a link to a product known as a S$ iSavvy Savings Account. Clicking on it takes you to a tiny little pop up window that gives you about 3 lines of information and gives you another link to a .pdf file containing the application form.

In a nutshell, based on the information on the site, a S$ iSavvy Savings account is a bank savings account that allows you to save in Singapore Dollars. It is essentially an account held in the Singapore Maybank branch, but since Maybank is a MALAYAN Bank after all, they were giving you the opportunity to open the account here in Malaysia, without having to make a trip across the border! Now, all of us with PPP will perk up at this news. A Singapore Bank account that you can open in Malaysia? Cool! All you need, according to the form, is your IC, S$500 in a demand draft, and a completed application form. There was a list of May-Blank branches you could drop your form off at.

So, I called up to find out more about this account. Based on the link given, of the list of Maybank branches in Malaysia one could go to to open this bank account, I picked the KL Main branch - of course!

So, thinking to myself “Who else would know better than the Main Branch?” I called the number given. I immediately knew something was wrong when the following conversation ensued:

Me: Hello, I’d like to find out more about your iSavvy Savings account.
MBB: Savings Account?
Me: Yes, your iSavvy savings account for Sing Dollar.
MBB: Sing Dollar? Hold on ah…
(listen to irritating muzak)
MBB2: Hello?
Me: Hi, I’d like to find out about your iSavvy Savings Account please.
MBB2: I don’t know what you are talking about. No iSavvy account.
Me: Um… it was on your website.
MBB2: I don’t know. We are not told about this service.
Me: But it said on the site I can apply at your branch.
MBB2: You know ah… sometimes they write on the website but they don’t tell us. So I don’t know what is that.
Me: Are you saying the website is telling a lie?
MBB2: I don’t know. They didn’t tell us. We are main branch but I never heard of this account.
Me: But it says I can submit my application to you!!
MBB2: Yahlah… Maybe its a mistake. I never heard of it ok? I give you another number you try.
Me: o_O

Hello? You tell me if they are May-Blank or not?

Ok, so I try the number given. Turns out it was ATM department and the girl was equally if not more bewildered when I started talking about Sing Dollar accounts. She then put me through to 2 more numbers which she said was “Product Development” who might be able to help. 20747467 did not exist because Telekom told me so, and at 20747959, I was told this iSavvy account does not exist. The lady told me to “Wait ah…” as she transfered my call, but the line went dead.

I couldn’t be bothered to pursue this matter any further. As far as I’m concerned, just forget it! There’s no way I’m going to touch May-Blank with a barge pole for anything other than simple withdrawals now. Even then also they must confuse me by limiting my withdrawals to RM1000 per day only. Siao I tell you, this May-Blank.

So, if there’s someone out there from May-Blank who wants to clarify:

(a) why their Maybank2u website is telling me something they did not tell their branches nor their HQ,
(b) whether their website is telling a lie,
(c) WTF is an iSavvy Savings Account and why is the information popping up in a tiny little javascript window without a proper link?

you can drop your comment off here. Might as well let us all see whether you deserve your May-Blank title or not. In the meantime, I May-NOT-bank with May-Blank for my S$ banking needs. Too risky.

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