Declaring currency at KLIA2 outbound, your experience

mikeyap wrote:

Lastly, if anyone can recommend me another way to do the transfer without getting ripped by the bank's rates here, please let me know too So far I have not found a bank that can deposit physical foreign currency notes.

I've just signed up with InstaRem, a Singapore remittance company that is licensed in Malaysia and the USA, among others. I guess they can do the transfer for you.

For transfers - Transferwise is what I use for GBP to MYR (rates are same as market rates and transparent on the low fee) and then MYR to GBP transfers MoneyMatch.

Hello all. How do you get around the MYR 10,000 per day bank transfer limits, or do you use some other methods? To fund my retirement I would rather just be able to just make one large wire transfer each year through Transferwise or similar. And bringing in large amounts of cash and depositing them is a hassle and risk I'd rather avoid.

The 10k limit is just for online transactions and its sometimes possible to amend that limit through the internet banking portal.

To make large transfers you would need to attend your bank and make arrangements manually.

There is now a money laundering alert on any transactions MYR 25k upwards (incoming/outgoing).

Funding retirement in Malaysia works quite well through Fixed Deposits.

If you have foreign currency it can be easier to transfer into FX accounts in Malaysia then exchange into MYR here.

Yes, I have already been here for several years and have accounts well established. Before I actually moved here, I originally wired in a large amount that I used for my MM2H requirements, buying a car, housing  and all that and nobody said boo. But now several years later I'm looking at a sustainable method that doesn't risk closing my account. I was trying not to go to the bank and explain this to them every time I want to make a transfer. And although I tend to leave a fairly large amount in the account for emergencies, I'd like to know that if I needed heart surgery and had to quickly wire in RM100,000 or something that I don't need to get permission to do it.

The process just seems strange to me, that they should allow transfers as long as the banks properly report it, which of course they do. I come from the US and we have some very strong money laundering laws, yet I have moved money around the world my entire life with no difficulty until I've encountered this rule in Malaysia.

I guess I'll go into CIMB and have a chat and see what they can do for me.

Thanks for the advice.

You could set up a Fixed Deposit just for medical emergencies which could be cashed out when needed. I assume you do Priority Banking because that is a far easier way to get things done. Incoming deposits would just be slightly delayed because of the ML clause. Otherwise keep USD in Malaysia in a currency account.

Yeah, I like the way you are thinking, but the problem with the USD plan is  that is it inserts the bank's exchange rate into the equation and they are not very competitive.

And the Priority Banking thing is more centered around ASEAN activity. But I've reached out to customer service and we'll see what they can offer.

If nothing else, I'll play the game and transfer RM100,000 over the course of 10 days. These days its as easy as putting my thumb against my phone's print reader and then a few keystrokes. I may even be able to set it up as a recurring transaction.

But if someone out there has been down this road and has a solid solution, please chime in.

Thanks again.

A lot of people are using Transferwise and it's been discussed in various Facebook expat groups. Seems transferwise in some cases are setting the 10k limit based on misunderstanding of the Malaysian internal banking rule. People are reporting the limit as Rm 100k per transaction being possible if they talk to their bank and prepare so clearance is approved in principle.

Transferwise initially told me that the limit was RM10K. Then another TW CSR told me 100K. It depends on the Malaysian partner they use - they have two. I prepared the receiving bank beforehand and phoned TW after initiating the 100K transfer. It went through in two working days.

NB You cannot use TW for MYR to GBP, only inbound to Malaysia.