Are there any downsides to using Malaysia banks (CIMB, Maybank, etc.) as compared to Singapore banks?

Hi anon,

All banks operating in Singapore must be licensed by MAS; to that end, they are all equal. Your deposits are insured by SDIC, etc. CIMB is a full bank, whereas Maybank is a Qualifying full bank, although the differences will most likely not have an impact on how you bank with them.

It is important to note that with FAST being widely adopted by the most banks (including the two you mentioned), the issue of a physical ATM is more often than not, a minor inconvenience, you could transfer money from your Maybank/CIMB while waiting in a POSB ATM queue and by the time its your turn, the money will be sitting in your POSB available for withdrawal.

I find that in terms of features, Maybank and CIMB have to capture market share from the incumbents and thus they have to offer more attractive offers such as a better interest rate, etc. It will likely be advantageous to bank with them.

More often than not, the most likely impact is that many companies only allow salary crediting to our 3 local banks; if your company doesn't have this restriction, then there really isn't any significant disadvantage I can think of.

Most obvious one would probably be the accessbility to ATMs would be less convenient compared to Singaporean banks.