You’re in a rush and you need cash. But the only ATM nearby isn’t from your bank.
In some countries, that means walking around aimlessly or paying steep withdrawal fees but not in Malaysia, thanks to a system many locals may not even realise is that special.
That’s exactly what one Singaporean man experienced during a recent trip to Johor.
Tan Kin Lian, a former presidential candidate and ex-CEO of NTUC Income, took to Facebook to share his pleasant surprise after encountering an unfamiliar ATM at Senai Airport.
Instead of being forced to find a machine from his own bank, he was able to withdraw money from his Maybank account even though the ATM belonged to a different bank.
This was made possible through MEPS (Malaysian Electronic Payment System), a nationwide interbank network that connects various banks and allows seamless withdrawals across machines.
This is the ATM of an unfamiliar bank. It was the first ATM that I saw at Senai airport. I was able to withdraw cash from this ATM from my Maybank account as it is linked to the MEPS clearing system,” he explained.
Although there was a RM1 service charge, Tan said it was worth it for the convenience and time saved.
“I do not mind paying this service charge as it saves me from looking for the ATM of my bank. This is more efficient than asking individual banks to set up their own ATMs.”
He went on to highlight that Malaysia’s MEPS system is not limited to airports many petrol stations and convenience stores also offer the same cross-bank ATM service, making cash access much more flexible for everyday users.
Drawing a comparison to his home country, Tan pointed out that Singapore lacks such an interbank ATM network.
As a result, individual banks have to set up and maintain their own machines, leading to higher operating costs and fewer options for consumers when it comes to convenient cash withdrawals.
Singapore does not have this arrangement. It leads to high operating costs in Singapore,” he noted.
