Opening a Maybank account as a foreigner in Malaysia (2026)

This guide is for foreigners who live in Malaysia, or are about to, and want a Maybank account: Employment Pass holders, international students, MM2H participants, DE Rantau Nomad Pass holders and long-stay visitors. I held the DE Rantau pass in 2023 and lived in Kuala Lumpur; my DE Rantau guide covers the pass itself.

Every rule, fee and limit below comes from Maybank’s product pages, disclosure sheets and terms, Bank Negara Malaysia’s rules, or other banks’ published requirements, checked on 13 November 2026. Where a page is silent or contradicts another, I say so. Branch staff still decide, so treat this as the paperwork that gets you a fair hearing, not a guarantee.

The short answer

• You open the account at a branch. Maybank’s online opening in the MAE app asks you to scan a MyKad, the Malaysian identity card, which foreigners don’t have.
• Bring your passport, your pass, and a letter from your employer or school. Proof of a Malaysian address helps.
• Have RM50 to RM250 ready. Savings Account-i and Kawanku open with RM50 if you have an employment letter, RM250 if you don’t.
• You are probably a non-resident. Without Malaysian citizenship or PR, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) treats your ringgit account as an “External Account”, which can bring transfer limits.
• DE Rantau holders are often turned away. MDEC, the agency that runs the pass, says most banks don’t accept it.

Which Maybank accounts foreigners can open

Maybank sells conventional accounts and Shariah-compliant ones through Maybank Islamic, marked “-i”; the Islamic savings accounts pay profit instead of interest. None of the pages I checked sets a religious condition.

Account	Type	Who Maybank says can apply	To open
Savings Account-i	Islamic savings	At a branch, “Passports for foreigners”, plus a work or student permit, visa, or employer or school letter as relevant	RM50 with an employment letter, RM250 otherwise; keep RM1
Kawanku Savings Account	Conventional savings	The same branch documents; also joint accounts of up to four people	RM50 with a letter of employment, RM250 otherwise
M2U Savers and M2U Savers-i	Savings with bonus rates for monthly “missions”	Malaysians; permanent residents “or non-residents of Malaysia with valid working permits may also be eligible”	RM250 at a branch; keep RM20
Master Foreign Currency Account	Foreign currency	“Open to all customers”, with a passport and documents for your purpose of stay	USD1,000
Master Foreign Currency Account-i	Islamic foreign currency	Not stated on the listing I saw	USD1,000
Basic Savings Account and Basic Savings Account-i	Basic savings	Malaysians and permanent residents only	RM20
Current Account-i	Islamic current account with cheques	Says Malaysians and permanent residents, yet also asks non-residents for a passport	RM1,000 for individuals

Base rates are low: Savings Account-i and Kawanku both pay 0.10% a year below RM50,000, effective 1 June 2026. M2U Savers opens in the MAE app with a smaller deposit, but the app’s steps include “Verify your MyKad”, so plan on the branch and RM250.

Eligibility by pass type

Maybank doesn’t publish rules by pass type, so this table combines its product pages with the other sources.

Your status	What Maybank’s pages ask for	What to expect
Employment Pass or other work permit	Passport, “valid working/student permit”, visa, and a letter of confirmation from your employer	The best-documented route. The letter cuts the opening deposit to RM50.
Student Pass	Passport, student permit, visa, and a letter of confirmation from your education institution	Bring the offer or enrolment letter.
Dependant Pass	Not listed separately	HSBC Malaysia, for comparison, asks for the dependant’s pass, a marriage or birth certificate, and the principal’s pass and employment letter. Bring all of these.
MM2H	No MM2H checklist; the foreign currency account asks for documents “according to the purpose of visit/stay in Malaysia”	The programme’s fixed deposit can sit at any licensed Malaysian bank (details below). Bring your approval letter.
DE Rantau Nomad Pass	Not listed	Often refused. See the next section.
Tourist entry (social visit pass)	Not listed; Maybank’s guide names “a relevant visa, employment pass, or student pass”	Nothing on Maybank’s pages suggests a tourist entry is enough.

For MM2H, the tourism ministry’s terms (marked accurate as of 22 July 2024) require a fixed deposit “in any Malaysian financial institution licensed” under Malaysia’s banking acts: USD150,000 for Silver, USD500,000 for Gold, USD 1 million for Platinum. Up to 50% of the principal can be withdrawn after approval for a home, education, medical care or tourism in Malaysia.

DE Rantau holders: expect a refusal and plan around it

The DE Rantau Nomad Pass is a type of Professional Visit Pass. MDEC’s own FAQ (Version 11.0, 1 November 2026) answers the bank account question directly:

Most banks in Malaysia do not accept Professional Visit Pass for the applicant to open a bank account.

Holders’ reports match. On the digitalnomads.my forum in February 2026, a holder in Cyberjaya listed Maybank, CIMB, HSBC Amanah, Bank Islam, Affin Bank and Bank Rakyat as banks they had tried, with a one-year housing contract, a utility contract and a recent bill. None opened an account. The post doesn’t say which bank said what, but the replies included “We need either an employment letter or a student offer letter” and “We used to accept earlier, now we don’t”. The holder was getting by with a foreign card, a Touch ’n Go eWallet and Wise.

The one success I found, posted in September 2026, did not involve Maybank. A holder opened accounts at Hong Leong Bank and AmBank on the same day, using their child’s school offer letter, the child’s birth certificate, both passports and the e-Pass. AmBank also asked for a month of payslips. CIMB and RHB declined, asking for a Malaysian employment pass and local employer details. The writer warns that “DE Rantau does not guarantee bank-account approval”.

So arrive with money that works without a Malaysian account: a multi-currency account and card from home, or Wise. My guide to international payments and forex fees compares the options. If your child studies in Malaysia, lead with that, and try more than one bank and branch.

Documents and money: what Maybank asks for

Maybank’s own guide to opening a savings account, last updated 26 October 2026, says foreign applicants “may be asked for”:

• a valid passport,
• a relevant visa, employment pass or student pass,
• proof of a Malaysian address, such as a tenancy agreement or utility bill, and
• in some cases, a letter of employment or enrolment.

You also need a Malaysian mobile number “used for verification and security notifications”, and must generally be 18 or over. Maybank’s online FAQ settles the branch question: new customers can activate an account in the MAE app only if they are “Malaysian with MyKad” and bank online with another Malaysian bank.

Fees worth knowing

Item	Charge
Maybank Visa Debit annual fee	None
Card replacement (lost, stolen, damaged, forgotten PIN)	RM12
Maybank ATM withdrawals	First four a month free, then RM0.50 each, or unlimited for an optional RM8 a year
Withdrawals at other Malaysian banks’ ATMs	Waived
Overseas ATM withdrawal	RM12
Card spending in a foreign currency	1% Visa or Mastercard conversion fee plus 1% foreign exchange cost
Closing a Maybank Islamic savings account early	RM20 within three months, RM8 within three to six months

Eligible deposits at Maybank, conventional and Islamic, are protected by PIDM, Malaysia’s deposit insurer, up to RM250,000 per depositor.

The debit card

The Maybank Visa Debit is open to all Maybank savings and current account holders, with a passport as the primary document “for non-residents/foreigner”. The default daily purchase limit is RM3,000, adjustable up to RM10,000. Overseas and online use stay blocked until you switch them on in Maybank2u.

Maybank’s multi-currency debit card, the Global Access Mastercard World, handles 18 currencies, but its page doesn’t say whether non-residents can hold one.

Maybank2u and the MAE app

What foreigners can do:

• Open a MAE wallet without a bank account. Maybank’s June 2026 MAE FAQ opens the wallet to anyone aged 12 or over, “Malaysian or Non Malaysian”. It holds ringgit only and pays no interest. The newest MAE disclosure sheet on Maybank’s site, dated October 2020, caps the balance at RM4,999.99 and debits at RM5,000 a month (RM10,000 each with a MAE Visa Debit card) and says the wallet is “Not protected by PIDM”. Check those figures in the app.
• Register for Maybank2u once you have an account. Since 18 September 2025 this only happens in the MAE app. Set a temporary six-digit PIN at a Maybank ATM with your debit card, or get an access number at the branch, then register within 48 hours.
• Send money abroad from the app or Maybank2u web.

What they can’t do: open a savings account in the app, which asks for a MyKad scan, or activate one online as a new customer. So open the account at the branch, collect the debit card, set the temporary PIN at a Maybank ATM and register in MAE the same day.

Foreign currency accounts

The Master Foreign Currency Account (MFCA) holds 16 currencies, including US dollars, euros, sterling, Singapore dollars and UAE dirhams, and needs USD1,000 to open. Transfers between it and your own ringgit accounts run Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 6.00pm, up to RM50,000 each, for the equivalent of USD4. Its free accident cover is for Malaysians only.

You can send a Foreign Telegraphic Transfer straight from the MFCA in the same currency (USD to a USD recipient, not to AUD), with the usual RM10 fee taken from your ringgit account.

Sending money abroad

From Maybank’s funds transfer fee page:

Service	Daily limit	Fee	Speed
Foreign Telegraphic Transfer, online	RM100,000 for individuals, shared with the three services below	RM10	1 to 3 working days
Maybank Overseas Transfer (to Singapore)	Shared limit above	RM10	Instant to Maybank Singapore
DuitNow Overseas Transfer	RM3,000 within the shared limit	RM10	Instant
Bakong	RM10,000 within the shared limit	RM10	Instant
Western Union	RM9,999	From RM5 for cash pick-up; RM10 to an account	Instant to 2 working days
Visa Direct	RM7,500	RM10	Within 30 minutes to 2 working days
Foreign Telegraphic Transfer, at a branch	No daily limit, subject to foreign exchange rules	RM30 cable charge to most countries	1 to 3 working days

Four details change the real cost:

• SST. Maybank applies 8% SST to the service fee and any agent or beneficiary bank fee, so the online fee becomes RM10.80.
• Non-residents. Maybank’s transfer page lists a separate limit of RM10,000 “From an external account”, without saying whether the exemptions in the next section apply. Ask.
• Middle banks. The recipient’s bank may deduct fees. Maybank’s Guaranteed OUR option has you pay a fixed fee upfront in AUD, EUR, GBP or USD (USD30 on a dollar transfer) so the full amount arrives.
• The exchange rate. Maybank doesn’t publish its margin. Compare the amount that arrives with a same-day quote from a provider like Wise.

Online transfers run from 6.00am to 11.30pm daily; those made after 6.00pm, at weekends or on public holidays are processed the next working day at the rate locked when you sent them.

Bank Negara Malaysia rules that matter to non-residents

Malaysia’s foreign exchange rules turn on residence, and BNM defines it narrowly. Under its Foreign Exchange Policy Notices, an individual “Resident” is a Malaysian citizen or “a non-citizen of Malaysia who has obtained permanent resident status in Malaysia and is ordinarily residing in Malaysia”. Everyone else is a non-resident, however long they stay on an Employment Pass, Student Pass, MM2H visa or DE Rantau pass. Tax residence is a separate test; the DE Rantau guide’s tax section covers it.

What follows for your account:

• It is an External Account. That is BNM’s term for a ringgit account opened by a non-resident, and Notice 4 says a non-resident “is allowed to open and maintain” one.
• Money can move in and out. BNM’s rules say “Funds are free to be remitted into and out of such accounts”, subject to the bank’s due diligence, and its FAQ says repatriation must be “made in foreign currency”.
• The bank can ask why. External Account payments are allowed if the non-resident “is able to produce documentary evidence” that the purpose fits the rules. Hong Leong Bank passes transactions of up to RM10,000 each without extra checks; RHB’s 2026 terms set RM10,000 per account per day through online banking, ATMs and cash deposits, and ask for documents above that.
• Some foreigners are exempt. Both banks exempt MM2H participants and anyone “working or studying in Malaysia”, plus their spouse, child or parent staying with them; Hong Leong adds “with a valid work permit or student pass and visa”. Nothing I found says whether a DE Rantau holder, working in Malaysia for clients abroad, qualifies. Ask your bank which group it puts you in.
• Family transfers are allowed. BNM’s FAQ lets a non-resident pay resident immediate family, and move money between External Accounts within the immediate family.

The limits reach beyond Maybank: Wise warns that a recipient with a non-resident Malaysian account “can only receive a maximum of 10,000 MYR per day”.

Branch discretion

Published rules are only half the story. Maybank’s guide says foreigners “may be asked for” documents, and CIMB says it “may request for additional supporting document not listed above”. Maybank’s account terms, effective 1 January 2026, let it close an account with 14 days’ notice, or at once if keeping it is “against our policy”, and it “may, but is not obliged to disclose the reason”. The DE Rantau success story ends with the same warning: requirements vary by bank, branch and time.

So call the branch first, name your pass type and ask exactly which documents they want. If one branch says no, try another.

Alternatives compared

If Maybank won’t open an account for you, these are the published rules elsewhere.

Option	What the bank or provider publishes	Reports from DE Rantau holders
CIMB	Passport valid for at least six months, plus pass-specific documents. Workers: employment letter and “Proof of income with minimum RM10,000 salary” (the page doesn’t say monthly or yearly). Students: savings accounts only.	Tried without success in February 2026; declined again in September 2026
Hong Leong Bank	Pay&Save Account open to “Malaysian and non-Malaysian individuals” aged 18 or over; RM50 to open	Opened in September 2026 with a child’s school offer letter
AmBank	TRUE Savers Account open to “Malaysian and non-Malaysian individuals” aged 18 or over; RM20 to open; you need an AmBank debit card and online banking	Opened in September 2026 with similar documents plus a month of payslips
HSBC Malaysia	You state a reason with proof: work (employment letter and a pass valid six months), MM2H (Immigration approval letter and social visit pass), studies (admission letter, student visa, EMGS letter) or family living in Malaysia	HSBC Amanah tried without success in February 2026
RHB	Terms set the RM10,000 External Account limits and exemptions above	Declined in September 2026
Wise	Malaysia is on its list of countries where you can hold money; non-residents can send up to 30,000 MYR a day from MYR	Used by the February 2026 holder in place of a bank account

What to bring to the branch

1. Your passport, valid for at least six months to be safe; CIMB asks for that.
2. Your pass: the e-Pass, sticker or approval letter, original and a copy.
3. A letter from your employer or school confirming your job or enrolment. For Maybank it also lowers the opening deposit to RM50.
4. Proof of a Malaysian address in your name: a stamped tenancy agreement or a utility bill.
5. A Malaysian mobile number that is already active.
6. Payslips or recent bank statements in case they ask about income or source of funds.
7. Family documents if they apply: a marriage certificate, a child’s birth certificate and school offer letter.
8. RM250 for the opening deposit, in case the lower rate doesn’t apply.

Tips

• Keep your home account running until the Malaysian one works end to end, card and app included.
• Ask which External Account group you are in. It decides how much you can move online in a day.
• Ask for Kawanku or Savings Account-i if the branch hesitates over M2U Savers; both pages list foreigners’ documents.
• Switch on overseas and online card use in Maybank2u before you need it.
• Update your passport details when you renew. RHB’s terms, for example, let it restrict debits once the passport on file expires.
• Don’t let the account go quiet when you leave. Maybank’s terms treat a savings account as dormant after 12 months without a transaction (three for a current account), and it may then charge a fee and close it with 14 days’ notice. Money in an account dormant for seven years goes to the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys.