Forum: Bank wanted proof of $750,000 cash balance for retiree to retain credit card

Transitioning into retirement can be fraught with frustration and disappointment even if you are financially sound and have ample assets.  

My Trust Bank credit card will be terminated just because I applied for an increase in my spending limit before going on a trip to the United States recently.

Trust Bank’s app rejected my request for a spending limit increase when I indicated that I was a retiree. I then received an e-mail that was not even personally addressed to me, telling me that if I could not provide an income statement, my credit card would be terminated as I “did not meet their income criteria to qualify for an unsecured credit card”.

This was a strange request to make, three years after it issued the credit card when I had earlier qualified for it.

I am mystified by Trust Bank’s actions as I am a cardholder in good standing, always having paid on time, consistently hitting its monthly and quarterly spend targets, and making 40 to 45 transactions monthly.

I proposed that the bank do a financial analysis of my net worth, and submitted my CPF statement that showed that I have exceeded the current Enhanced Retirement Sum limit of $426,000 and would be receiving a monthly payout of over $3,000 a month for life when I turn 65 in a few months.

The bank declined, and asked if I could instead produce a bank statement that shows a cash balance of $750,000. All these onerous requirements from a digital bank that requires a $30,000 annual income to qualify for a fresh application.  

Trust Bank has offered no attempt to resolve the issue by assessing my creditworthiness holistically, but has instead adopted a blanket rejection due to my having no payslip. 

 If retirees as a group are disproportionally rejected in this way despite having substantial financial assets, then this seems to be age-based discrimination. 

Yim Tat Chuen