Pedestrians outside a Maybank in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Oct 19, 2023. Maybank representatives on Dec 1 said in a text message that the matter, which was first reported by Singapore’s The Straits Times, had been resolved. — Bloomberg
A client of Malaysia’s biggest bank recently discovered that her bank balance had mysteriously increased to more than RM400mil.
When Hafidzah Abdullah checked her account late last month it showed she was over RM404mil in credit. It would have been a huge windfall, especially in a country where the average household takes home around US$22,000 (RM102,993) per year, but there was a catch: She couldn’t access the money.
Hafidzah, the director and co-founder of a human-resources firm, turned to LinkedIn to vent her mix of amusement and annoyance.
“Dear Maybank,” she wrote on Nov 29. “I appreciate your making my banking experience memorable.” She went on to explain that account glitches had become a recurring issue for her, “a comedy of errors that nobody finds funny” and which required either visits to a branch of Malayan Banking Bhd or long waits on the phone to reach customer service.
“They say money can’t buy happiness,” she wrote, “but Maybank knows how to buy frustration.”
Other people chimed in. “They treat you like a ball, kick you here and there,” wrote one. “Am wondering what’s wrong with banks in Malaysia,” wrote another.
Amid an outpouring of gripes, jokes and congratulatory well-wishes, the bank’s head of group customer experience management, Shaikh Munir Ahmad, offered to help. In a comment on the media platform he said he’d spoken with Hafidzah and she now could access her account.
Maybank representatives on Dec 1 said that the matter, which was first reported by Singapore’s The Straits Times, had been resolved.
“It was not a system-wide issue and the customer account was not compromised,” a spokesperson at the lender said in an email.
Kuala Lumpur-based Maybank is South-East Asia’s fourth-biggest bank by assets. – Bloomberg
