Ding and Davison at the launch.

MBF Cards (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is targeting 1,000 cardholders this year for its newly launched Expat Platinum and Lady Platinum MasterCard.

Jointly launched with The Expat Group (TEG) on Aug 20, the cards are the first in the country designed specifically for the resident expatriate community and will be extended exclusively to expatriates that TEG reaches.

“Currently, expatriates are finding it difficult to get a card from local financial institutions and using their foreign issued cards here attracts high foreign exchange and finance charges,” MBF Cards president John Ding said.

He said the cards are targeted at expatriates working in smaller companies whom banks may view as perceived risks as well as those living here under the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

“With the rising expatriate population in the country and those choosing Malaysia as their ‘new’ home through the MM2H programme, there is a need for a hassle-free locally issued card for this segment to effectively meet their daily lifestyle needs,” Ding said.

He said MBF Cards would collaborate with TEG, a publisher that provides information on places of interest and lifestyle issues to expatriates working or residing in the country via its magazines, websites and social events.

“With TEG’s experience with the expat community in Malaysia, we are confident our collaboration with them for the launch of the Expat Platinum and Lady Platinum Mastercard will address the specific needs of expats.”

“Many working expats and resident Malaysia My Second Homers have asked us how they can obtain a local card without having to place a sizeable fixed deposit with the issuing institution.

MBF Cards was able to come up with their special Platinum card which is now available to the expat community without the need to first deposit money with them,” TEG chief executive officer Andrew Davison said.

The cards offer exclusive privileges at establishments such as luxury shopping, dining, vacation and leisure outlets as well as a range of benefits to meet expatriate lifestyle requirements.

Cardholders are also offered free supplementary cards and free protection plans such as Accidental Disability Insurance for up to RM100,000, Purchase Insurance for up to RM200,000 and Travel Accident Coverage for up to RM2 million.

Source: http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=37472

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