Judge us by financial health, not age

I WOULD like to highlight a frustrating and systemic issue quietly practised by commercial banks in Malaysia: The arbitrary exclusion of senior citizens from accessing basic financial products, specifically credit cards, based entirely on age rather than financial capability.

Recently, I attempted to apply for a credit card through a major local bank’s digital platform. I discovered that the system is hard coded to block applicants over the age of 65 from even completing the submission process. When I e-mailed the bank to demand an explanation, they hid behind system limitations and refused to provide a concrete reason.

This is not just a personal grievance; it is a systemic flaw that affects thousands of financially independent, responsible Malaysian retirees.

Many seniors over 65 are highly creditworthy, possessing stable income streams from rental properties, dividends, investments or pensions. Yet banking’s automated underwriting engines treat anyone past 65 as an immediate liability, regardless of their actual net worth.

The standard excuse used to justify this is risk management. But if risk is the issue, banks should evaluate assets, income and debt-to-income ratios – not a birth year. After all, banks cannot guarantee a younger applicant will not default or experience a sudden life event, so why use age as the sole, rigid yardstick?

Age alone is not an accurate indicator of financial risk or creditworthiness, especially for self-sufficient retirees. By failing to provide a manual underwriting alternative or a transparent explanation, banks are shutting out an entire segment of responsible consumers based entirely on demographic prejudice.

Bank Negara Malaysia frequently speaks about the importance of “financial inclusion” and the “fair treatment of financial consumers”. Allowing commercial banks to deploy lazy, blanket algorithms that auto-reject seniors – without offering a human, manual underwriting alternative at branches – is a direct contradiction of those values.

Furthermore, refusing to provide an applicant with a transparent reason for a rejection directly contradicts Bank Negara Malay­sia’s guidelines on the fair treatment of financial consumers.

As Malaysia transitions towards becoming an ageing nation, our financial institutions must evolve. Shutting out financially sound elders from digital financial tools is short-sighted and discriminatory. I urge Bank Negara Malaysia to step in and review these hidden, ageist credit policies and ensure that senior citizens are judged by their financial health, not their age.

CONCERNED RETIRED CITIZEN

Subang Jaya, Selangor