Suparman Kusuma, head of group consumer banking (second from left) and Kenneth Ho, head of consumer assets, group consumer banking (second from right) of Alliance Bank celebrating the official launch of Alliance One Account. At right is Giuseppe Taibi, group chief marketing officer of Alliance Bank and Dennis Martin, group CEO of CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd.
KUALA LUMPUR: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd and Alliance Islamic Bank Bhd had on Thursday launched their Alliance One Account which is structured as a mortgage account that is part term loan and/or overdraft.
They said the account is the first loan consolidation service of its kind in Malaysia that uses a mortgage product.
With this account, Malaysians will have greater control and flexibility over their monthly loan repayments as it is structured according to their preference and financial needs.
It offers a choice of lower monthly repayments, savings on total interest/financing costs, and/or more cash in hand for personal consumption.
The banking group's executive vice president, head of group consumer banking Suparman Kusuma said with the Alliance One Account, they can choose to reduce their monthly loans repayment and interest paid on their loans so that they have more cash in hand for their daily expenditure.
“It is customised based on customer’s income and property value. Customers can choose to consolidate their hire purchase loans, personal loans, credit card balances, and/or overdraft credit limit balances into the Alliance One Account. This is structured as a mortgage account that is part term loan and/or overdraft,” he said.
The innovative account resulted from the banking group's market research carried out last year on how it could deliver fast, simple and responsive solutions to our customers
Kusuma said 88% of the respondents were interested to consolidate their loans, giving them convenience, control and flexibility over their monthly financial obligations.
The account provides an overdraft facility, valid until the age of 60. Hence, it eliminates the need to refinance in the future, and enables customers to save on legal or documentation fees.
Hence, with the Alliance One Account, customers only need to pay minimally interest on the utilised overdraft amount every month, or opt for the flexibility of making advanced payments and future withdrawals up to the Overdraft limit.
Kusuma said Malaysia has one of the highest household debts in the region. The bulk of these debts centres around four types of loans: housing, car, credit cards and personal loans.
“There are indicators that household debt will continue to be high due to internal and external headwinds. We believe that by having more cash and lowering interest costs will help them meet their needs more easily,” he said.
He said the findings of the survey showed customers were taking up too many types of loans at varying interest rates, which might not be in their best interest in the long run as these interest costs add up.
He added it could also be time-consuming to monitor these loans on a monthly basis, and missing a payment may hurt one’s credit history.
“By adopting a singular overview of their loans portfolio, customers can have greater control over their debt management,” he added.
Alliance Bank group CEO Joel Kornreich said Alliance Bank had embarked on a transformation to bring to market innovations that were fast, simple and responsive, and in its customers’ best interest.
“The Alliance One Account is part of that commitment and we believe that it will be well-received by customers as it is relevant and meaningful to them,” he added.
For details, click on http://www.alliancebank.com.my/alliance-one-account.
Customers can also try out the loan simulator at http://oneaccountsimulator.alliancebank.com.my/, or go to https://www.ctoscredit.com.my/ to check their credit report and credit scores in tandem with the Alliance One Account simulator.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
