Credit cards-i: what changed and what you still owe

The contract changed; your bill still needs paying

A credit card-i gives you a payment facility with a repayment obligation. Its Islamic contract does not make purchases free, cancel your balance or make the minimum payment a full settlement. Paying the retail statement in full and on time can preserve the applicable grace period; carrying a balance can create profit charges even when you meet the minimum.

Sources: CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB Islamic card fees and charges

We use CIMB Platinum-i as a named example, checked on 6 October 2026: the linked Product Disclosure Sheet (PDS) prints 1 January 2026, and both cardholder language editions print 3 August 2026. A separate notice already announces fee changes for 16 October 2026. These dates identify distinct documents; they do not prove which private offer governs your account.

Sources: CIMB Platinum-i product page; CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026; CIMB Bahasa Melayu cardholder terms; CIMB fee revision notice, 16 October 2026

What changed in 2026?

CIMB’s 21 November 2025 notice changed its existing Islamic cards and related services from ujrah (a fee-based arrangement) to tawarruq, effective 1 January 2026. The updated 31 December FAQ retained monthly repayment duties and said the final Bank’s Sale Price would appear by February 2026. Its accompanying update also changed the statement label “Payable Facility Charge” to “Profit Charge”. The conversion-era statement display was not a new purchase or a debt write-off. The December opt-out timetable is historical.

Sources: CIMB conversion notice; CIMB updated conversion FAQ; CIMB statement-display update

Tawarruq uses a deferred commodity sale to create the financing obligation and a separate cash sale to a third party. CIMB acts as your appointed agent for the documented trading steps. The funding supports the card facility: ordinary use pays merchants, while cash advances release cash and follow different charging rules. You owe the amounts due under the facility. This explains the documents’ roles, not proof that we observed your commodity trades.

Sources: CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Do not confuse the contractual ceiling with this month’s spending. The Bank’s Purchase Price incorporates the approved limit plus 50%; that does not automatically raise the usable limit. The PDS makes temporary increases subject to approval. Total Profit uses the ceiling rate and five-year tenure; actual monthly profit uses the applicable effective rate and utilisation. Ibra’ means rebate: the public documents describe a difference between ceiling-based total profit and effective profit, with rebate/waiver on cancellation or renewal subject to the terms.

Sources: CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB Islamic card fees and charges; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Read the amount and the date together

Your New Balance is the full amount shown as due in the statement. The minimum payment is the smaller required payment for that cycle, not a promise that profit stops. A payment counts as received when credited to the bank’s account, not merely when you initiate it. Allow for the payment channel’s processing time and confirm receipt.

Sources: CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

CIMB’s minimum method is: 5% of Current Balance, plus all service/value added tax, all monthly instalments due and previous unpaid minimums, or RM50, whichever is higher. Current Balance includes retail, cash advances, profit, ta’widh and other applicable fees. The statement example has none of the extra items. If RM25 service tax is separately due, the same RM2,000 retail base gives RM125; add an assumed RM150 instalment due and it gives RM275. Do not quietly include those separate additions in a retail-only RM100 minimum.

Sources: CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB Islamic card fees and charges; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Full payment versus the minimum

For new retail purchases, the current terms grant 20 calendar days from the statement date when the preceding month’s outstanding balance was fully paid by its due date. Pay this statement in full and on time too. The fee page says that if you do not, retail profit runs from each transaction’s posting date. Cash advances and balance transfers have no retail grace period; the terms also exclude monthly instalments from the definition of retail transactions.

Sources: CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026; CIMB Islamic card fees and charges

The published retail tiers are 15% a year after 12 consecutive prompt minimum payments, 17% after at least 10 prompt months in the last 12, and 18% otherwise. This example assumes the 18% tier for the balance-carrying branch; the issuer must establish the actual tier. RM1,900 is a subtraction snapshot, not the next bill. Profit may reach back to posting dates when grace is lost, and an actual payment may first meet accrued profit, ta’widh and fees under clause 29.1. The original posting/payment dates, daily balances, day-count convention and rounding are needed to reproduce a charge. We therefore do not turn RM1,900 × a monthly rate into an invented issuer bill or claim a payoff duration.

Sources: CIMB Islamic card fees and charges; CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Charges and exclusions worth checking

• Annual fee and tax: the named Platinum-i’s principal and supplementary annual fees are waived, but the published RM25 service tax applies to each card on activation and annual renewal. Waived annual fee does not mean tax-free.
• Cash advances: the fee page currently waives the cash advance fee, but charges profit at 18% a year on a daily-rest basis from disbursement until full settlement. Other ATM and foreign exchange costs may apply.
• Instalments: 0% Easy Pay is at participating merchants. Flexi Payment Plan-i, CashLite-i and balance conversion are distinct programmes, not automatically 0%. Obtain the actual plan terms, total payable, tenure, early settlement/cancellation treatment and overdue treatment. All monthly instalments due enter the minimum in full.
• Foreign spending: CIMB publishes the card network’s conversion plus a 1% administrative cost and any network transaction fee. A merchant’s choice to bill in ringgit is not proof it is cheaper.
• Supplementary cards: the principal holder remains liable for supplementary transactions.

Sources: CIMB Platinum-i product page; CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB Islamic card fees and charges; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Sources: CIMB fee revision notice, 16 October 2026

If the minimum is late

The fee page says ta’widh (compensation) is imposed when the minimum is not paid by the due date: 1% of unpaid retail/cash advance balances, minimum RM10 and maximum RM100. However, the January PDS says actual cost up to 1% and also includes bank programmes; August terms clause 27.1 says actual cost up to 1% on unpaid retail balances and states ta’widh is not compounded. Those public descriptions have different bases and wording. Ask the issuer to reconcile the applicable document, trigger, base and actual cost for your account; this guide does not select a rule for a mixed or overdue account. Do not presume an automatic weekend extension: clause 27.3 says the bank may allow four calendar days.

The RM100 ta’widh maximum is not a cap on the debt or all consequences of default. PDS section 5 says the bank may suspend or terminate the card, use debt collectors, take court action, exercise set-off after the stated notice and record the default with credit agencies. Contact the bank early if you cannot keep up payments.

Sources: CIMB Islamic card fees and charges; CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

The BNM Shariah Advisory Council statement issued and effective 3 July 2026 sets cash advance and annual fee parameters and recognises specified treatments of tawarruq proceeds and repayments. It does not certify our example or prove the bank’s execution. Its prohibition on compounding ujrah and late charges in ujrah-based cards should not be turned into a blanket claim that all charges on all cards-i never compound.

Sources: BNM SAC card statement and standards

Muslim and non-Muslim readers

An Islamic label describes the product’s contractual and usage rules; it is not itself a citizenship, income or approval test. Public Islamic Bank explicitly welcomes Muslim and non-Muslim customers, illustrating inclusion in Islamic banking. For the selected CIMB card, verify its own application criteria and bank approval: the product page publishes RM24,000 minimum annual income. Neither religion nor meeting one threshold guarantees approval. CIMB’s terms restrict non-Shariah-compliant use; a transaction being authorised does not override those usage obligations.

Sources: Public Islamic Bank inclusion FAQ; CIMB Platinum-i product page; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026

Before you use or repay the card

1. Match the exact card, PDS, terms version and any later notices. Check whether a change is already effective.
2. Read New Balance, due date and minimum separately. Identify tax, instalments, cash advances and arrears.
3. Confirm the profit tier, whether retail grace is available, posting dates and how a partial payment is allocated.
4. For cash or instalments, ask for the total cost and repayment terms; do not rely on a headline fee waiver or 0% label.
5. If a charge differs across documents, request a written breakdown. If payment is becoming difficult, contact the bank early and use the complaint/help routes in the related guide.

A conventional card also requires you to compare statement timing, interest, fees and late-payment terms. Similar ringgit costs alone neither establish identical contracts nor show which card is affordable for you. Rewards do not erase the repayment obligation.

Sources: CIMB Product Disclosure Sheet; CIMB cardholder terms, 3 August 2026