Maybank Singapore gives away $5mln cash rewards

Pocket Me GIRO intends rewarding customers when they GIRO with the lender.

Maybank Singapore became first in the world to launch “Pocket Me GIRO”, an incentive that rewards customers when they GIRO payments with the Bank. This forms part of a series of rewards and privileges the Bank has been rolling out for both new and existing customers in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year, according to a Maybank Singapore report.

The Bank is launching “Pocket Me GIRO” with credit card bills for a start, but Maybank customers can expect varying forms of “Pocket Me GIRO” rewards from the Bank over time. To enjoy this incentive, existing Maybank customers need only to put their Maybank credit card bill payment on GIRO with their Maybank current account or savings account.

The Bank will then round up a customer’s spending to the nearest five dollars, and give the customer the difference between the rounded up amount and the amount billed on the credit card. This means that every month, each customer can pocket up to five dollars just by simply putting his Maybank credit card bill on GIRO with Maybank. This cash reward will be auto-credited into the customer’s designated Maybank savings or current account the following month, after successful GIRO deduction.

“Traditionally, GIRO is one of the most convenient methods of bill payment for customers, which is why we developed the ‘Pocket Me GIRO’ incentive as the way to reward our customers. How it works is, for example, if your credit card bill is SGD 101, Maybank will round it up to the nearest five dollars, making it SGD 105, and credit the difference into our Maybank savings or current account. This means that while you pay SGD 101 through GIRO on your bill, Maybank credits a bonus of four dollars into your savings or current account,” said Ms Helen Neo, Head of Consumer Banking, Maybank Singapore.

The “Pocket Me GIRO” incentive will run till June 2011 for GIRO payments of Maybank credit card bills. With a maximum cash reward of five dollars a month, “Pocket Me GIRO” initiative customers will be able to pocket a maximum bonus of SGD 60 for the 12-month period.

The Bank has set aside SGD 5 million to reward customers for using “Pocket Me GIRO”. To enjoy the cash rewards, a customer will need to be a Maybank credit cardholder, hold a savings or current account with the Bank, and GIRO payment of his Maybank credit card bill through his Maybank account. Both new and existing customers fulfilling this set of criteria are eligible for the cash rewards.

Added Ms Neo, “Through ‘Pocket Me GIRO’, we expect to grow the number of deposits and credit card accounts by more than 30 percent, as we believe that the public will welcome this innovative cash incentive.”