Atome launched its very own BNPL card, dubbed the Atome Card, a couple of months back, and since then, most eyes have been trained on it.

Given that Malaysia now has 7.5 million active BNPL account holders, the segment seems to keep adding products that blur the line between instalment financing and everyday purchasing.

The Atome Card sits squarely in that grey zone: it works at any merchant that accepts Visa, and comes with zero annual fees. Yet it is also not a credit card, and runs BNPL instalments.

What is the Atome Card?

The Atome Card is a BNPL-based Visa card that works at any merchant accepting Visa in-store or online, whether it’s a checkout on Lazada or your Jaya Grocer grocery run. The card is issued through Fasspay and operates on the Visa network.

The Atome card is a breath of fresh air compared to Atome’s traditional PayLater product. Its proposition is direct: make your purchases on the card, and you get up to 40 days to repay it interest-free. If you need more flexibility in your payments, you can split the sum into 3, 6 or 12 monthly instalments.

The instalment plans are Shariah-compliant, while the application process itself requires no minimum income.

How to Apply for the Atome Card in Malaysia

The application process is quick and easy. Open the Atome app, navigate to the Card tab, and tap “Apply Now.” You’ll need to submit basic personal details and upload your Malaysian MyKad and a selfie.

Approval can take a few days, depending on how the system evaluates your profile. No income documentation is required.

Once approved, you receive a virtual card immediately, which is usable for online transactions at any Visa-accepting merchant worldwide. The physical card is available on request, which is a tap-enabled Visa with chip functionality. It arrives by mail within one week or more.

Requirements are minimal: you must be a Malaysian citizen or long-term resident, at least 18 years old, and an active Atome account holder.

What Does the Atome Card Actually Cost?

The Atome Card is free in some respects and chargeable in others.

The Free Stuff

The Atome Card has no annual, account maintenance, or application fees. Most critically, there is no interest within the 40-day grace period. If you settle your full balance before the due date, you pay nothing beyond the purchase price. No down payment is required either, which means the full purchase amount is deferred.

For users who treat the card as a short-term cash flow tool, like buying groceries on the 5th and paying them off by the 15th, the Atome Card can effectively work as a zero-cost float.

What You Should Be Wary Of

The costs of the Atome Card will surface when you extend beyond the interest-free window or when you miss a payment.

If you want to spread out your payments, you can convert your Atome Card’s outstanding bill into an instalment plan of up to 12 months after your bill is generated. Available instalment tenures can vary, as this depends on your account’s eligibility.

Once you opt for this, the total amount due will be split into equal monthly payments, and per Atome’s Help page, it “may include applicable interest or fees as outlined in your loan agreement.”

Atome also shares on the same Help page that if your card bill is overdue, it will affect your card usage for transactions, and Atome may engage a third-party to handle collections, which could result in a legal responsibility.

This is a standard practice for credit products, including bank credit cards, but once again, the onus is on the consumer to be aware and beware.

At the time of writing, Atome’s Help page does not publish a specific fee schedule for the Atome Card’s instalment interest rate or late payment charges.

Is the Atome Card Better Than a Traditional Credit Card?

A traditional entry-level credit card from, say, Maybank or CIMB, typically requires a minimum annual income of RM24,000 to RM36,000, a credit check, and a formal application process. In return, you get credit limits that start around RM3,000 to RM5,000, and often climb significantly with usage.

You also get perks: cashback, reward points, miles, purchase protection, and in some cases, airport lounge access.

The Atome Card asks for none of that, but it also gives you less: starting limits as low as RM1,000 in certain cases, no cashback or miles programme (Atome+ points aside), and no purchase protection framework comparable to what Visa’s bank-issued cards offer.

The Atome Card fills a gap for consumers who can’t qualify for (or don’t want) a traditional credit card, and it offers broader spending flexibility than a standard BNPL checkout button. But if you already hold a bank credit card with a reasonable limit, the Atome Card doesn’t offer a compelling reason to switch. Yet, at least.

Who Is the Atome Card Best For?

Not every financial product needs to be for everyone, and the Atome Card is no exception.

Young professionals and gig workers without a traditional credit card

If you don’t meet the income threshold for a bank credit card, or if you’d rather avoid the formal credit application process altogether, the Atome Card gives you Visa-level spending access with a low barrier to entry.  It’s possibly the next best thing to a credit card for people who don’t want to, or can’t get one.

Daily small-spend users

If your typical transactions are petrol, convenience store runs, food delivery, and the occasional online order, the low starting limit is adequate. Pay within the 40-day window, and the card is effectively free floating.

Existing Atome PayLater users

If you’re already in Atome’s ecosystem and you’ve hit the ceiling of what merchant-locked PayLater can do for you, the Card is a BNPL add-on.

The Atome Card & the Consumer Credit Act in Malaysia

The Consumer Credit Act 2025, passed by Parliament in July 2025 and gazetted on 31 December 2025, officially took effect on 1 March 2026.

For existing BNPL (and by extension, possibly Atome Card) users, the Act introduces a few changes that are worth understanding.

Under the Act, BNPL operators are now required to share consumer credit data with reporting agencies such as CTOS. This means your Atome Card repayment behaviour will likely appear on your credit profile alongside your bank loans, credit card records, and any other formal borrowing.

For disciplined users, this is a net positive. If you’ve been using, say, the Atome Card responsibly, making repayments within the 40-day grace period and keeping your utilisation low, that behaviour is now building you a credit track record.

For younger Malaysians without traditional credit cards or bank loans, the Atome Card could function as a credit-building bridge.

But the flip side is also important to consider. Missed payments will also sit in the same credit file that a bank pulls up when you apply for a home loan or a car financing package, and can affect your credit score.

Atome Card vs Atome PayLater

As both the Atome Card and Atome PayLater are on the same app, it’s good to understand how they differ.

Atome PayLater was the initial offering by the company. If you were in-store, you’d shop at a participating merchant, scan the Atome QR code at checkout, and then split your purchases into 3 or more payments, depending on the merchant and the options that are available. Similar steps would apply if you were to shop online.

However, the key difference between Atome PayLater and Atome Card is the Visa rail the card has. As the card runs on Visa, you can use it at petrol stations, neighbourhood minimarts, and even an online merchant, so long as Visa is accepted. None of these merchants needs to have a direct relationship with Atome.

The trade-off is that the Atome Card runs on an available spending limit rather than pre-transaction approval. If you intend to opt for instalment payments, the interest rates would be available to you at the point you split the payments only.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you apply for the Atome Card in Malaysia?

Application for the Atome Card is fairly simple. Apply through the Atome app with your IC and a selfie, and the system takes a few days to evaluate your application. If your application is approved, you will be provided with a set limit and a virtual card. You can also opt to request a physical Atome Card.

What Atome BNPL products are available in Malaysia?

Aside from Atome PayLater and Atome Card, Atome will soon be launching Atome i-Cash, an Islamic financing option which is based on the Shariah Tawarruq principle and would be up to RM15,000. Between PayLater, the Card and soon i-Cash, Atome is gearing up a dedicated product suite for BNPL.

Is the Atome Card Shariah-compliant?

Yes. The Atome Card offers Shariah-compliant instalment plans, and Atome markets its card as fully Shariah-compliant for the Malaysian market.

Is the Atome Card a credit card?

No, it’s a BNPL instalment card issued on a prepaid Visa framework. Unlike traditional credit cards, it doesn’t require income proof or a credit score check.

Featured image edited by Fintech News Malaysia based on an image by Atome on Atome