Balance Transfer Calculator

The rate a bank advertises is usually not what the transfer costs you each year. Enter the offer to see its real yearly cost, then see how it compares with staying on your card.

The offer

Amount to move (RM)

How does the bank charge?

A flat rateThe bank adds the rate to the full amount, then splits the total into equal instalments. Most plans work this way.An effective rateInterest is charged on what you still owe, so it falls as you repay. Use the effective rate the bank prints.A one-time feeA single fee, billed with your first instalment. The rest is split equally.

Flat rate (% a year)

Your statement or the bank's terms may also print an effective rate. If they do, choose “An effective rate” and enter that instead.

Repayment period

What it really costs

Real yearly cost

10.00% a year

The offer reads 5.5% flat. Because you repay a little every month, you do not have the whole amount for the whole period, so the same money costs more per year than the headline suggests.

Monthly instalment: RM 879.17
Total cost of the transfer: RM 550.00

Against staying on your card

Your card’s rate (% a year)

What you can pay each month (RM)

Interest if you stay: RM 916.23
Cost of the transfer: RM 550.00

Moving it costs RM 366.23 less.

Before you apply

Bank Negara Malaysia caps what a card can charge on unpaid retail balances at 15%, 17% or 18% a year, depending on the card’s tier. The minimum payment is at least 5% of what you owe.
Ask your card issuer about Automatic Balance Conversion. Under Bank Negara’s card rules, a cardholder who earns up to RM5,000 a month, has carried a balance rather than paying in full for the past twelve months and repays 10% or less of it each month on average can have the balance turned into a three-year term loan at no more than 13% a year, with no penalty for settling early.
Missing a payment can end a promotional rate. Read the bank’s terms for what happens to the rest of the balance.

Your credit report

A balance transfer is a credit application, so it shows in the application section of your CCRIS report. Applying for several things close together can read as financial pressure. See how a CCRIS report reads.

An estimate from what you enter. The real yearly cost treats each instalment as paid at the end of a month. Your bank’s own figures and terms apply.