Less than half of these card swipers – 43% – settled their debts in full, according to statistics revealed by the government in the first six months of 2016.
The same number paid the minimum amount of 5%, while some 13% could not make payments at all.
Tina Shamsul, 37, is an example of the 3.6 million Malaysians who failed to settle their credit card bills on time.
Tina is not a typical shopaholic who haunts the malls, swiping credit cards and emerging from stores with the latest arrivals in hand.
Instead, she does it from the comfort of her desk.
“I don’t have time to drive to the shopping mall,” she told FMT.
She added however that the satisfaction of online shopping was similar to that of the conventional method.
“They call it retail therapy,” she quipped, before quickly adding, “But what comes after isn’t therapy when I have to pay my credit card bills.”
She said the online convenience of pre-storing credit card information on her favourite websites also made it easier to take advantage of discounts and promotions.
“It’s more convenient to just have that number saved rather than having to key in long numbers each time you purchase something. Deals run out fast!”
Timothy Lee’s swiping habit is also based on the premise that the more you swipe, the more you save.
“There are rebate promotions during the weekends, so you tend to keep shopping on Saturdays and Sundays too.
“I kept swiping and as a result I ended up spending more, thinking that I was saving,” said the 30-year-old public relations executive.
Banks issuing credit cards normally tie up with malls, entertainment centres and other retail outlets, allowing spenders to earn more reward points if they use their cards.
But Lee said the banks’ generosity does not help at all with his personal finances. On top of this, he said, was banks throwing another credit card into his wallet “for free”.
“The bank says you need two credit cards, but nothing warns us for what happens after you get the cards.”
Norlinawati Ahmad still remembers the first credit card she got, at the age of 23.
Just a few months later, she discovered that her debt had piled up, thanks to her willingness to advance payments for her travelling companions.
“I often volunteered to book hotels and flights whenever we went on holidays. The problem started when some friends did not pay their share on time. With my little earnings, I had to go for months without settling the full outstanding amount,” she said.
However, Norlinawati makes her case as to why the credit card is something you can’t leave home without.
Once when she travelled to Hong Kong, the hotel required a deposit of HK$1,000 (approximately RM400 then).
“They would not let me check in if I didn’t pay that deposit. I didn’t own a credit card then.
“But when they insisted that I sign a letter to ensure that I would not consume anything from the minibar or use the phone, I decided that I needed to get a credit card.”
She is still paying off her debts today.
Tina, Lee and Norlinawati are young and in debt, and reflect a worrying trend of youths unable to manage their money.
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Muhammad Ibrahim recently said that 75% of Malaysians are unable to fork out even RM1,000 for emergencies.
Financial coach Carol Yip told FMT that people who lack financial discipline should force themselves to deduct a specific amount from their salaries every month for “emergencies”, but admits it’s not easy.
“To get a person to spend less than what he or she is earning is tough. They really need to push themselves to do that,” she said.
Tina, the online shopper, tells us why.
“It feels good to be able to shop from anywhere, and with a credit card in hand, you worry later about paying back,” she said.