If you are Malaysian, you have the option for the earnings from your Adsense to be credited directly to your bank account in Malaysia. The Adsense payments for Malaysia is processed from the Google office located in Singapore.
How to change the collection method from Western Union to Wire Transfer (credit your bank account):
All you have to do is to fill up the information in your Adsense account to indicate you would like the funds to be credited directly to your Malaysian bank account. To fill up, login to your Adsense account (using desktop). From the “Payments” tab, under “How You Get Paid”, select “Manage Payment Methods”. You would see the tab below:
After that, a dropdown box will appear and you can fill up your bank information:
Details are as follows:
- Name on bank account: Fill up your name as per bank account, usually will follow your NRIC or passport name
- Bank Name: The name of your bank
- SWIFT BIC: Swift code of your bank (do note that in Malaysia, if you have an Islamic bank account, the SWIFT code is different from the conventional account)
- Account number: your bank account number
- Retype account number:
- Intermediary bank name and Swift code: I left this column blank
- FFC or FBO: I left this column blank
When I first set the payment method around the year 2018, I was not really sure if it would work since that time not much information was available via the internet. Decided to give it a try because I figured if the transfer failed, the funds will go back to my Adsense account. As a caregiver, it was real inconvenient for me to leave my home to go and collect my funds via Western Union.
Thankfully the direct debit worked and the funds were credited directly into my bank account successfully with no issue. Note: Before that I did some research and the forum mentioned CIMB but I did not use CIMB account.
Do note that if you opt for wire transfer payment, your bank will deduct a service charge (amount depending on the bank but it is usually less than RM10). I am happy to let my bank charge me the service charge because my parking, time and effort just to collect the money each time cost more than RM10. And each time you would only get paid if you hit the minimum payment threshold of USD100 which is about RM400 plus. So even if your bank deduct RM10 is worth it.
How long you need to wait to receive your funds:
If you hit the USD100 threshold this month, Adsense will process the payment on the 21st of the following month. The first time, your funds may take about 5 days to be credited. After that, I noticed that funds are usually in my account by 23rd of the month.
Why some do not prefer wire transfer
I know some Malaysians may be earning Adsense and prefer to collect directly from Western Union to be a little sneaky and hoping to evade ‘detection’ especially from our LDHN (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri). Because it is usually assumed that if the crediting goes through a bank account, it is easily monitored and reported.
Actually, if LDHN (Income Tax) wishes to find out, they can just request a report directly from Google office located in Singapore. Or have all the Western Union agents to provide a report to them. After all, when you collect your Adsense earnings from Western Union, you need to provide your NRIC for identification. This can easily be traced back to you.
That is why my friends, it is better for you to just declare your earnings in your annual income tax returns. As per the local tax law, you still gotta declare even if you are not taxable because it is an offense not to report your earnings.
Trust me, you will sleep better at night.
