RinggitPlus survey highlights shockingly low financial literacy rate among Malaysians

• RinggitPlus to revamp website, launch chatbot
• Will collaborate with TV3 on new TV show to help educate Malaysians

FINDINGS from RinggitPlus’ recent Malaysian Financial Literacy survey yielded worrying results, indicating 30% of respondents did not have enough money to last them even a month.

Jirnexu Sdn Bhd’s, the holding company of RinggitPlus, co-founder and chief executive officer Siew Yuen Tuck explained the reason behind the survey was to gain a deeper understanding of how Malaysians manage their money. They launched the survey in early October 2018 and collected 2,996 responses within a week.

Shockingly, more than half of the Malaysians who responded to the survey were not able to save more than RM500 a month. Twenty-four percent say they are not able to save any money at all.

RinggitPlus chief executive officer Liew Ooi Hann said, “Clearly, there is a need to improve financial literacy among Malaysians. The truth is most Malaysians are leaving money on the table because they don’t know better.”

“With just a bit of basic personal finance knowledge, they will be able to save hundreds of Ringgit a year by matching the financial products they choose to suit their needs,” he added.

Taking the survey results to account, RinggitPlus said it is embarking on an expanded content strategy that is set to reach a wide audience through a partnership with Media Prima’s TV3 to launch a new TV show called Ringgit Sense+ that is set to premiere on Nov 26.

The new season of the show will present money management information and recommendations to young adults and families on how to better manage their money.

On the back of those announcements, RinggitPlus aims to revamp its existing website with an all-new mobile-friendly interface by mid-Nov. The company explained that the change was necessary as more visitors to the site browse from their mobile devices instead of their desktops.

Taking their experience from launching Chatbots for local banks like RHB and CIMB, RinggitPlus said it also plans to add an improved Chatbot that works across its website.

Liew said the new Chatbot has been under development for close to a year and is aimed at being usable across the website, so users can quickly make inquiries on financial products like credit cards, loans, savings or insurance.

They would even be able to apply for the products directly within the Chatbot itself upon providing all their relevant details following the standard Know Your Customer (KYC) process.

“The future is not about choice, value or convenience but rather personalisation,” added Siew. “Using technology and partnerships with banks, we can provide a truly personalised experience to enable consumers to enjoy cheaper loans or savings.”