The Citibank Step-Up Interest Account is a checking account that gives you increased interest rates as you increase your monthly Average Balance. Simply put, the more you save, the higher your interest.
Rewarding
- Yields monthly interest rates of up to 2.30% p.a which is 5X higher than most conventional Current Accounts.
- 'Safety Net' feature available to ease the stepping-up of interest rate.
Affordable
- Only RM 2,000 is required to open a Citibank Step-Up Interest Account.
- Only top-up RM 500 on your monthly Average Balance.
Global Access
- Transfer funds in an instant between Citibank® accounts across multiple countries via Citibank Global Transfer
- View your Citibank accounts across participating countries with a single login via Online Global View
- Complimentary cash withdrawal at more than 20,000 Citibank ATMs worldwide.
- Emergency cash withdrawal of up to USD 10,000 at any Citibank branches worldwide.
Convenient
- Personalized Citibank check book.
- Interbank funds transfer.
- Access to over 11,000 MEPS ATMs network nationwide.
- Make banking inquiries anytime, anywhere via live e-Chat, 'Call Me' function and 20 seconds1 call pickup.
Secure
- Eligible for protection by Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM)*.
* Click here for more details on PIDM protection.
1From the moment you press 0 to speak to a CitiPhone officer.
Interest
| Interest Calculated | Daily |
| Interest Paid | Monthly |
Global Access
| Complimentary instant online fund transfer worldwide | Up to USD 12,500 daily for Citibank® customers and USD 25,000 daily for Citigold® customers. |
| Emergency cash withdrawal at Citibank branches worldwide | Up to USD 10,000 |
| Online Global View of accounts via single login |  |
| Telegraphic Transfer | |
| Complimentary Citibank ATM withdrawal worldwide | |
Convenient
| Minimum opening balance | RM 2,000 |
| Monthly top-up amount | RM 500 |
| Daily cash withdrawals | Up to RM 5,000 for Citibank customers and RM 10,000 for Citigold customers. |
| Interbank funds transfer (Interbank GIRO) | RM0.10 (including 0% GST) per transaction Notice: This will be waived (effective 24th March 2015) until further notice. |
| Complimentary monthly e-statement | |
| Cash withdrawal, check balance and pay credit card bills more than 11,000 MEPS ATM | |
| Online e-Chat | |
| Call-Me back function | |
Access
| Debit & ATM card | |
| Check book
- For local checks received/deposited BEFORE 4pm, the funds will be available to customer the next business day*, provided the check deposited is not returned. - For local checks received/deposited AFTER 4pm, the funds will be available to customer on 2nd business day*, provided the check deposited is not returned. *Federal Territory holiday is not considered a business day for all states. |
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| Citibank or Citigold Online | |
- You only need RM2,000 to open a Citibank Step-Up Interest Account which will entitle you to a Base Interest of 0.50% p.a.
- Subsequently, you can step up your interest by 0.15% p.a. (Bonus Interest) when you increase your current month's Average Balance by RM500 over a 12-month period
- Hence, the total interest rate that you will be able to enjoy is up to 2.30% p.a.
In the event that your current month's Average Balance falls below that of the previous month's, your Step-Up Counter will be reset to 9, 6, or 0, based on the 'Safety Net' feature**. The illustration below provides an example of the 'Safety Net' feature whereby the Average Balance in Month 7 is lower than Month 6.
The 'Safety Net' feature in Month 6 has prevented the Step-Up Counter from being reset to 0. As such, you can still enjoy a Bonus Interest of 0.90% if your Month 7's Average Balance is lower than Month 6.
Upon attaining the maximum 2.30% p.a. (after 12 counters of step-up), you can fulfil either one of the following requirements to continue enjoying the interest rate of 2.30%:
- maintain an Average Balance of RM10,000 in the consecutive months
- ensure that your current month's Average Balance is RM500 greater than the previous month's
General questions
For any enquiries, you may contact Citibank's 24-hour Citiphone Banking at:
03-2383 0000 03-2383 0000 (Kuala Lumpur & Klang Valley)
04-296 0000 04-296 0000 (Penang)
07-268 0000 07-268 0000 (Johor)
1800-82-1010 1800-82-1010 (Sabah & Sarawak)
09-509 0000 09-509 0000 (Kuantan)
Yes, you can do a standing instruction to transfer funds from another bank to your Citibank Step-Up Interest Account on a monthly basis. You only need to visit the bank which you are planning to transfer the funds from and obtain a standing instruction form from them. Fill up the form and submit the form back to the bank, and your funds will be transferred automatically on a monthly basis. Do take note that not all banks would have this standing instruction service.
Product features
Average Balance is the total sum of Daily Balance for the month divided by the number of calendar days of the same month. The calculation is demonstrated as below:
Average Balance = Total sum of Daily Balance for the month / Number of days for the month
Step-Up Counter is the determinant of how many consecutive times you manage to increase your Average Balance by RM500, which in turn determines the rate of your Bonus Interest. For example, if you manage to increase your Average Balance by RM500 for 3 consecutive months, you would have 3 Step-Up Counters. As such, the Bonus Interest that you will be entitled to is:
0.15% p.a. Bonus Interest x 3 Step-Up Counters = 0.45% p.a. Bonus Interest
The maximum Step-Up Counter you can achieve is up to 12.
You can step-up your Account's interest rate to 2.30% p.a. by adding up your Base Interest and Bonus Interest. The Base Interest entitled to you upon successful Account opening is fixed at 0.50% p.a. On top of that, when you have achieved 12 Step-Up Counters, you will be entitled to another Bonus Interest of 1.80% p.a. Therefore, you will be able to enjoy a maximum interest rate of 2.30% p.a. The calculation is as illustrated as below:
Base Interest of 0.50% p.a. + [Bonus Interest of 0.15% p.a. x 12 Step-Up Counters] = Maximum interest rate of 2.30% p.a.
You may also refer to How It Works here.
In the event that your current month's Average Balance falls below, or did not increase by RM500 as compared to the previous month, your Step-Up Counter will be reset to 6, 9, or 0 based on the 'Safety Net' feature. This unique 'Safety Net' feature is designed to ease you in your efforts to increase your Step-Up Counter and enjoy the growing interest. Please refer to the table below on how the 'Safety Net' feature works:
| Existing counter | Conditions | New Counter Reset to | Bonus Interest Rate p.a. |
| 0 - 5 | Minimum Growth Amount each month is less than RM500. | 0 | 0% |
| 6 - 11 | Minimum Growth Amount each month is less than RM500. | 6 (First Safety Net) | 0.15% x6 |
| 12 |
(1)
Minimum Growth Amount each month is less than
RM500 and the current month's Average Balance is less than RM10,000
|
9 (Second Safety Net) | 0.15% x9 |
|
(2)
Minimum Growth Amount each month is at least
RM500 OR the current month's Average Balance is at least RM10,000
|
12 | 0.15% x12 |
You can continue enjoying the maximum interest rate of 2.30% p.a. by fulfilling either one of 2 requirements:
- ensuring that your current month's Average Balance is greater than previous month's by RM500.
- ensuring that your monthly Average Balance is at least RM10,000.
The Base and Bonus Interest (if applicable) will be credited into your Account on the last calendar day of the month.
Earn up to 5X more interest compared to conventional Current Accounts.
With the Citibank Step-Up Interest Account, there is a huge difference in terms of the interest you'll be receiving. Please refer to the illustration* below which compares the Citibank Step-Up Interest Account with a conventional current account in Malaysia.
Your interest starts accumulating from day 1 itself. A year on and you would have earned a total of up to RM71.96 in interest. That is an amount 5X more than most other conventional Current Accounts in Malaysia!
*The comparison above is based on the assumption that RM2,000 is the initial deposit and RM500 is the monthly increment in Average Balance from months 0 - 12.
For the Citibank Account Terms and Conditions, click here.
