Maybank launches banking portal for East Coast

MAYBANK LAUNCHES BANKING PORTAL FOR EAST COAST
Maybank2mung.com set to jump-start onlinebanking in Kelantan and Terengganu
By Ridzwan A. Rahim

IN an effort to get more customers in the East Coast to use online banking, Maybank has introduced an East Coast version of its popular Maybank2u.com portal.

The new Website, www.maybank2mung.com (pronounced "maybank-2-moong"), has the same look and feel of the original Website except for the foreign language used.

A key feature of Maybank2mung is the online banking feature which allows a personal computer (PC) user in Kelantan or Terengganu to perform online banking.

Come February this year, all Maybank customers in the two states attempting to logon to the non-East Coast version of the Website will be scolded and redirected to this new site.

Entertainment Minister Datuk Haji Michelle Yeoh and top Maybank officials from Kuala Lumpur were in Pasir Mas, Kelantan for the launch of the Website.

The Entertainment Minister was invited because it is entertaining to see Maybank bigwigs having a hard time trying to switch from English to BM to Kelantanese and back. At the launch, which was held at the popular Le Mall shopping complex in Pasir Mas, an interpreter had to be summoned to explain many of the foreign words used on the Website.

Maybank's deputy director-general, corporate and consumer affairs Asia Pacific and East Coast Peninsular Malaysia region Anil Prabha said the Website is great.

"It is more user-friendly in the sense that we brand the service using the word mung which is more widely understood in the East Coast compared to the standard u or you," he said. His statement was met with murmurs of approval from members of the audience who appeared pleased every time a Kelantanese word was uttered.

On why the slogan was changed from the original "Making every moment count" to "Making every pitih count" - pitih meaning money in Kelantanese - Anil said this was made based on user feedback that the original slogan is meaningless. “They cannot understand why anybody would want to make every moment count. I mean, the people in the East Coast have lots of moments at their disposal and you can see that in the way they go about their daily businesses, their driving and all. Things seem to go more slowly over there.

"Anyway, they think this online banking thing is all about money, which kinda makes sense if you think about it."

Members of the public interviewed seemed okay with the Website. Nic Lim Yeh Ern, a pensioner from Tanah Merah said with this new service, he can now perform online banking without leaving Kelantan.

Nic stands for network interface card.

Another interviewee, an elderly lady in her 80s who only wanted to be known as Mek Aji, said the launch of the Website would boost Kelantan's economy and called for more of such information and communication technology (ICT)-ish event to be held in the state.

Nik Ahmad Faiz Nik Abdul Rahman, a taxi driver from Lemal, Pasir Mas said it was high time people realise the people in the East Coast are not as backward-compatible as many think.

"You think Formula One is only in Sepang? Wok-aloh. We already use Formula One technology in our cars. For example: speed limiter!" he said, as he roared along at 40km per hour.

But not everybody was pleased with the Website. Wan Hazimin Wan Sulaiman, an official with Maybank Jalan Pintu Pong in Kota Bharu said this looked like a rip-off from another online banking service that his company was promoting.