Bank Negara sets new rules for credit cards

Published: Friday March 18, 2011 MYT 12:41:00 PM
Updated: Friday March 18, 2011 MYT 2:33:40 PM
Bank Negara sets new rules for credit cards

Minimum annual income requirement raised to RM24,000

KUALA LUMPUR: The minimum annual income requirement for credit card eligibility has been raised to RM24,000 from RM18,000, effective immediately, in a move to keep household debt at manageable levels, Bank Negara announced Friday.

For cardholders earning RM36,000 per annum and less, they can only hold credit cards from a maximum of two issuers.

The maximum credit limit for those earning less than RM36,000 has also been capped to double the monthly income of the cardholder.

The central bank said while credit card debt remained at a manageable level, these measures were being taken to promote sound financial and debt management.

"It's a pre-emptive move to ensure that the prudent level of household debt remains at that level moving forward," Bank Negara's deputy governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus told reporters.