Tune Money is one of our clients at Nuffnang.
In case some of you may not already know, Tune Money is a new startup by Tony Fernandez and his crew.
One of their newest products is the Tune Card, a Visa prepaid card that anyone can apply online for, as long as you’re above 18 years old.
Naturally since they’re our clients, I found a way to attend their launching in the KLCC Convention Center last week.
Now I’ve been to a few launches but this was one of the most entertaining ones I’ve been for.
The launch started off with a speech by the CEO Tengku Zafrul and before you know it, two really cute girls brought up a giant Tune Card with Tony Fernandez’s name on it.
I must say I’m pretty impressed with the Tune Card and if anything, it’s something that we all really could use and it answers a lot of our prayers.
I remember the days before I was eligible for a credit card.
Those days were a little easier for me to get by since back then credit cards weren’t as widely used.
Today with the internet being a huge driver, there are so many things you need to do online that just demands a credit card, unlike those days when the primary purpose of a credit card are is just to buy access to *ahem* sites.
Everything from booking a bus ticket to Singapore to buying a book on Amazon these days demands a credit/debit card.
Of course, the main qualm that everyone has with credit cards is losing control of spending. That is something even I have felt myself sometimes. A RM50 dinner may not seem so much until it all adds up at the end of the month and I get a rude shock.
The Tune Cards however, is a prepaid card that lets you top up a certain amount of credit. So if you top up RM50, you can ONLY spend RM50 until you top up more.
Of course the thing about traditional debit cards before the Tune Card is that it’s naturally seen as being ‘not as cool’ as having a credit card.
For example, when people talk about the Singaporean dream, they talk about the 5Cs (Condominium, Car, Cash, Country Club Membership and CREDIT CARD), they don’t call it 4Cs and 1D (For Debit Card).
Heck go to some places and try to pay with your debit card and they’ll reject you out right saying “Sorry sir, we only take credit cards here”.
The Tune card however somehow eliminates all that double standard. It looks just like a typical Visa credit card and is accepted just as well anywhere.
Like it or not, another not so obvious advantage to the Tune Card is ironically that it’s not tied to a bank.
I mean when you think of a bank having a debit card and you’re looking to apply, the first thing you assume is that you’re going to need a bank account first which means a whole long form with square boxes and a million places for you to sign.
All the Tune Cards take is an online application and you’re done.
Anyway after the launch there was a little reception where everyone got together to mingle.
In the reception area was Tony Fernandes himself with a few other VIPs.
It crossed my mind whether I should go over and say
“Hi Datuk, thank you so much for all the support you’ve given us at Nuffnang with Air Asia, Tune Hotels and now Tune Money”. 
But I hesitated… bah I mean he won’t even know what the hell Nuffnang is or even anything about the Open Letter I wrote to him once about Air Asia.
So I walked away, but just as I was walking away, he turned his back and looked right at me, smiled and nodded his head to somehow acknowledge me. I had a 3 second opportunity there to go up and say HI but I didn’t.
WHY? Because I was STAR STRUCK!
So what did I do? I stood there like a scarecrow and just smiled back.
A SMILING SCARECROW!!!
I left the launch thinking to myself
“DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT…”
And I called my father after that to tell him what happened.
My father brought me back to Earth and said
“Son… do you think he’s going to know who you are or if he’ll EVEN remember you after you met with him today”.
Oh well…
Check out the Tune Money website to apply for a Tune Card. I have two credit cards in my wallet that I use excessively but I’m applying for one anyway.
Might help me keep my spending in check.
Disclaimer: I am not paid a cent to write this entry. It’s just something I write because I actually believe in it.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space