But here’s the problem I’m currently facing – I can’t register for the online account. Unlike Maybank2u which can be registered via most of the Maybank ATMs, the Public Bank online account requires you to register and get the PIN number at the branch which you’ve registered your debit card. This is very very inconvenient for me because I registered my card in Kluang, Johor (I went there while I was on vacation) but I’m based in KL.

It’s funny how such a large bank will have such old and out-of-date system. For now, it’s impossible for me to register online since I no longer go back to Kluang. I’ll just have to wait for the monthly statement or cancel it, and register at a KL branch.

Other option? There is another debit card which we can use which is from Al-Rajhi Bank but the ATMs are pretty rare in Malaysia. We do have 1 Visa debit card from Maybank but that cannot be used. As of now, Maybank has not allow international-based transaction for their debit card. So, if you think you can use that for PayPal withdrawal, don’t. It will not work yet.

Hope it helps.

As for Public Mutual agent, it is not about tips but commitment from the agent. Can your agent really commit his or her time? Is what your agent say relevant (more like advice than tips)? And is your agent efficient enough?

Those are few questions you need to ask yourselves before locking yourselves up with a particular agent.

As for me, I engaged my ex-supervisor who is a part-timer. She used to help me a lot in the past and I did not hesitate much then. But the end result is not really that pleasant.

• I told her I need to change my equity to bond. That was before the market crash. She told me not to do that because China funds are sustainable. I know China funds are better than some other equity, but I also know bond funds are better options when the economy is bad. To date, the bond funds which I was looking at have gone up quite a lot, but my equity funds have dropped nearly 30-40%
• I also told her to stop the auto debit in September. She said it will only take effect in October but until now, it is still the same. I was hoping to collect enough cash for myself to use and keep during this difficult period since I expect the equity funds to drop further in early 2009. Save up now, and use the money to buy more at lower price later.
• Also, I have no ways to know how much money I have invested after all this while and how much money I have left based on the current fund price. It’s important to keep track of the total loss or profit but I just don’t have the mean to do so since my agent doesn’t help me with that.
• It’s very hard to meet my agent since she no longer works in the same building as I do. There’s not much communication between my agent and I.

To some, these 2 might not be very big problems. But to me, I was hoping my agent will listen to me and do what I told her to do. If she is not free, then she can tell me and let me know how I can get it done by myself. In the end, I consulted my friend who is in Penang. Here are the solutions for point (2) and (3).

• I can call Public Mutual’s number if I want to stop the auto-debit or I can leave my bank account balance to be less than the auto-debit amount for 3 months, and the auto-debit feature will stop automatically. Or I can just go to the Public Mutual office (I know there’s one in Damansara Perdana) to fill in a form to stop the auto-debit.
• Go to the Public Mutual office and seek help from them to check your outstanding balance and how much you’ve earned or lost. They have the system to calculate that.
• If you want to change to another agent, you can go to the Public Mutual office and fill up a form.

As for my case, I will talk to my current agent first and will most probably change the agent to my stock broker uncle. At least he stays nearer to me and I do meet him quite often.

Hope my personal experience here can help you.

Anyway, to apply for PayPal is quite a straightforward process. You fill up your details and most importantly your email address. PayPal account = your email address and you will use it in all your payments. So make sure you have the right email address especially the primary email address.

Next, you will need a credit card, preferably a VISA credit card for Malaysians. This is because PayPal (as of now) does not allow people to withdraw the fund in PayPal to MasterCard credit cards. Only VISA cards can be used. When adding your VISA credit card, you will need to verify the transaction before PayPal confirms the card to be yours. You can go to your credit card statement, copy the 4-digit in front of the transaction and paste it to the card verification field inside PayPal. This is your PayPal Code.

Quoted from PayPal.com

Your unique, randomly generated 4-digit PayPal code is displayed on your credit or debit card statement next to or near the PayPal fee. In the item description section, you will see it next to the word PAYPAL.
Allow a few business days for the PayPal code to appear on your online card statement. If you do not have online access to your statement, you’ll need to wait for your statement in the mail.

The PayPal will charge $1.95 to your credit card in order to verify it. Don’t worry about it since the $1.95 will later be refunded to your PayPal account after your card has been confirmed.

Workflow to withdraw money from PayPal

However, for credit card, it’ll only minus the cash from your balance. Say you have $100 in your PayPal, withdraw it, it’ll become $95 (PayPal charges $5 per withdrawal and 1% if you withdraw the maximum $500). This $95 will help to minus all your credit card balance and you will not get any cash out unless you use a Debit Card.

For Debit Card, PayPal only recognizes Public Bank Debit Card. There are already people who managed to withdraw successfully into their debit cards but there are also people who are facing some issues.

Either way, that doesn’t deny the fact that the money is still with you. Enjoy and if you have any problems, do not hesitate to ask here.