If you’re like most people, you would only ever think about your credit score in Malaysia when you want to buy health insurance, get a personal or property loan, or even rent an apartment.
However, your credit score is what stands between you and the bank’s decision to approve the loan or credit card you are applying for.
Having good credit is advantageous in many ways. It can help you get approved for attractive rates and terms when you apply for a loan, whereas having bad credit may cost you money in ways you may not expect.
Read on and we’ll tell you what you need to know about your credit score in Malaysia and how you can improve it!
What is A Credit Score in Malaysia?
A credit score in Malaysia is a number given to represent your trustworthiness as a borrower. It helps a bank or lender determine whether to accept your loan application, the amount they’re willing to lend you, and the terms and interest rates they will offer.
Your credit report can also say a lot about your financial history. It includes your credit activity, such as loan paying history, and your current credit situation.
Insurance providers, landlords and banks use your credit report to verify your overall trustworthiness as a borrower as well as your repayment behaviour.
How to Improve Your Credit Score in Malaysia
Your credit score is important. When you have a higher credit score, you are more likely to be approved for new loans or lines of credit and receive lower interest rates when you borrow.
Here are several tips to improve your credit score in Malaysia:
1. Limit Your Requests For New Credit
When you apply for a new credit account, the lender will carry out a hard enquiry on your credit score to determine how much risk you pose as a borrower.
However, too many hard inquiries on your credit report within a short period can damage your credit score.
Banks and lenders would assume that you are in need of money because you’re facing financial difficulties and are, therefore, a bigger risk. Hence, if you are trying to raise your credit score, avoid applying for new credit for a while.
2. Make Regular Payments On Time
Make payments on time, on or before the due date. It is a good way to show lenders you’re a reliable borrower and capable of handling credit responsibly.
3. Check For Errors In Your Credit Report
Small mistakes, such as a mistyped address, can affect your score and be enough for a lender to reject your loan application. You should check your credit report carefully to ensure all the information on it is accurate and up to date.
4. Keep Your Credit Utilisation Low
Your credit utilisation is the percentage of your credit limit you have used. For example, if your credit limit is RM2,000 and you’ve used RM1,000 of that, your credit utilisation is 50%.
Generally, a lower percentage is seen positively by lenders. It is recommended to try and keep your credit utilisation below 30% to improve your chances of getting your loan application approved.
Read More: Debt Consolidation Malaysia: Unlock Your Home Equity to Consolidate Debts
How Often Should You Check Your Credit Score in Malaysia?
Establishing a good credit score in Malaysia is essential for your overall financial picture. With a good credit score, it is easier for your credit cards, loans, mortgages, and more to be approved.
Moreover, a good credit score can be especially helpful when facing an unexpected financial crisis, such as a layoff. Banks will see you as a responsible borrower and may increase the loan amount you can apply for.
We suggest you check your credit score and report at least once a year – and sometimes more often – to spot errors or fraud and to get a sense of your credit health.
The information they contain can help you make wiser decisions that will help you save money and build a stronger financial foundation.
How to Check Your Credit Score in Malaysia
1. Bluebricks
If you’re applying for a loan and need to find out your credit score, Bluebricks can help you check your CCRIS and CTOS reports for free.
2. Central Credit Reference Information (CCRIS)
CCRIS is owned and managed by Bank Negara Malaysia. It processes data received from participating financial institutions in Malaysia and turns them into credit reports.
Examples of information available on a credit report from CCRIS include outstanding loans, summons, and whether the person has been declared bankrupt.
3. Credit Reporting Agencies
There are three leading credit reporting agencies in Malaysia, governed under the Credit Reporting Agencies Act 2010. These credit reporting agencies are:
4. Touch ‘n Go
Touch ‘n Go Group is collaborating with CTOS Digital to provide free MyCTOS, and CCRIS reports for its eWallet users. They will now be able to keep track of their financial situation on the Touch’ n Go eWallet app on their iOS and Android devices.
Read More: Top-Up Loan Malaysia: 3 Important Things to Know Before You Apply
How Bluebricks Can Help You with Your Credit Score in Malaysia
Knowing your credit score and health is important if you want to save money, improve your credit rating and reduce debt.
Bluebricks is a trusted financial consultancy company and licensed money lender in Malaysia. We provide loan consultancy and loan rejected services to better serve the financing needs of our diversified client base.
Refinancing Loan Rejected Services
With our comprehensive refinance housing loan rejected services, we provide consultation and efficient solutions for your current and future refinancing applications.
As a one-stop loan solutions provider, our financial experts at Bluebricks can help you:
- Prepare your loan documents before handing them over to your preferred banks
- Negotiate for better refinancing home loan terms
- Avoid issues with your application process to save you time and money
Credit Score Malaysia – FAQs
Building credit can be essential for many things. That is because lenders and other companies often use your credit information to decide whether you qualify for things like housing loans and credit cards.
A bad credit score can be fixed, but having no score is also bad because lenders cannot profile you and decide if you are able to pay back your loans. Even if you do not need it now, building a credit history could be helpful for future loan applications.
If you want to learn more, here are some commonly asked questions about credit scores in Malaysia.
For most banks and lenders, a good credit score is between 650 to 750. If your credit score is from 751 to 850, it is considered exceptionally good, and if it is below 460, it is considered low.
Unfortunately, a debit card does not help you build your credit. This is because you’re using money from your bank account to pay for a purchase. However, with a credit card, you’re borrowing money from a line of credit. Your issuer is covering the cost upfront, and you’re responsible for paying it back.
Having no debt is not bad for your credit score, but you should maintain open and active credit accounts to improve your credit score. In fact, if you have no debts at all, you might not get your loan application approved because your score is too low.
